Doctor Who: Cairde i mBosca
by A Rhea King
Summary: TARDIS makes a new friend. A friend to take on non-adventures and vent to when her Doctor tries her patience.
1. Chapter 1

Cairde i mBosca  
By  
A. Rhea King

 **Chapter 1**

With a whir and other electronic sounds, the TARDIS materialized in a grove of trees near a road. A farmhouse and horse stables could be seen at the top of a hill. In the distance a dairy farm could be seen, and beyond it the pastures and hay fields were filled with tents and a flow of people.

The door formed with trees blocking both sides. Clara opened the door and stared at the trees for a moment.

"Doctor," she said crossly, "we have a problem."

The eleventh Doctor appeared next to her. Then he looked crossly up at the doorframe.

"You couldn't have warned me?" he asked the TARDIS.

There was no response.

"She's been doing this a lot lately," Clara pointed out to him.

"She's just being cranky, although I can't figure why. Shut the door," he told Clara. "We'll try parking again."

The two disappeared back inside. The TARDIS disappeared, and then reappeared in a new spot in the grove. Clara opened the door, and then stepped out into the sunlight. The Doctor followed her out carrying a backpack. He handed it to her.

"Where are we? What's this for?"

"1969, Woodstock starts in…" He glanced at the sun. "two hours. That's our tent. We'd better go find a good place to pitch a tent."

"A tent?" she asked dubiously.

"Of course a tent!" He walked off, telling her. "Everyone loves tents."

"I don't care for them, actually."

"You'll love my tent."

"Bigger on the inside?"

"Not really."

The two walked away debating the likelihood of Clara enjoying a tent, leaving the TARDIS alone in a grove of trees near a road. The day wore on and night began to sink in. The valley echoed with the music and a mass of people. The setting sun had just lit the sky on fire when footsteps approached.

A young woman, who was not much older than Clara, walked into the grove and circled the TARDIS once. She stopped, looking at the front, and then smiled.

"Hello there," she said to it. Her voice had an Irish accent that living in America had toned down some. She laid her hand on the wood and ran it down the painted surface. She smiled as she pulled her coat tighter around her.

"This is quite unexpected," she told the blue box with a smile, "but I guess, considering what you are, it's not unheard of, is it? My great grandmother told me stories of a blue Police Box that once took her some places far away, with a man called The Doctor. Well, she was never sure he was a man, he looked like one was all. They had an adventure, the two of them, and then she came home and never saw him or you again." The woman leaned in, as if telling the TARDIS a secret. "I always thought she was a little daft because of those stories, but then here you are, sitting in the middle of New York, nearest a music fair. The paper news says it's going to be historic but it is just a music festival."

The woman turned away, looking off toward the dairy farm and the soon-to-be historic music festival. "They're predicting rain during this. The whole lot will be lucky not to catch their death of pneumonia, they will." She looked sidelong at the TARDIS. "Is your Doctor Who down there with someone?" She smiled, patting the blue wood. "Well, I'd best be going. Supper won't make itself."

The woman walked away. She crossed the road and started up the hill toward the farmhouse. Darkness closed in around the TARDIS. The music was almost drowned out by crickets. Night creatures flew, creeped, or walked past. It was a lonely place for any sentient being, but lonely was normal for the TARDIS.

-#-

Morning dawned and shortly after noon the woman came down the hillside with wide steps. She was carrying a knapsack in one hand and a transistor radio from her other wrist. She smiled at the TARDIS when she could see it through the trees.

"I brought you some music," she told it. She spotted a log nearby and sat down. She switched on the radio, tuned into a station, and sat it next to her feet. She dug out an apple and a small piece of wrapped cheese, and began eating.

"My grandmother said you were able to understand things – but she never did see any proof of that, it's just what the Doctor said." She slid off the log and sat down on the ground so she could recline against it. "She never really talked about where they went; just that she saw years of wonderful things, and it was only a matter of minutes here. I wonder what that's like."

"Have you ever seen the end of the universe?" someone asked.

The woman looked over her knees at the hologram of Clara. She slowly moved to sit up.

"Who are you?"

"The TARDIS Graphic Interface."

"Oh. Well, that's unique, isn't it?"

"There are more advance systems in other cultures."

The woman smiled. "Are there? I take that comment back then. I'm Sara. What do I call you?"

"TARDIS."

"Aye. I should have guessed. And to answer your question, no, I've never seen that. Has anyone?"

"Yes."

"You're Doctor?"

"Yes. And others."

"Mm. Does it make a sound, the edge of the universe? Or is that a silly question just a human would ask?"

"It does make a sound, yes."

Sara smiled. She grabbed her radio. "Can you show me the sound? Can you make it come out of here?"

TARDIS looked at the radio, then Sara. "It is something to be experienced."

She disappeared followed by the door opening.

Sara stared at the open door for several minutes, debating. She stood up, grabbed her knapsack and radio, and walked inside. She started to walk slowly around the control room, looking at everything and touching nothing.

"My grandmother said you have a pool."

The hologram of Clara appeared. "I do."

Sara turned, grinning. "And how many bedrooms and loos?"

"As many as I need. I am infinite."

"Really?" Sara looked over the controls. "What does it feel like to be infinite?"

When TARDIS didn't answer, Sara leaned to the side so she could see the hologram around the center console. TARDIS stared at her. Sara walked up to her.

"Do you not know?"

"I do not have any words you could understand to describe it," TARDIS answered.

Sara smiled. "That's a problem of a different color, isn't it?" Sara walked over to a set of stairs and sat down.

"You were going to let me hear the end of the universe, remember?"

The door closed. The two stared at each other.

"Does that mean you're mad at me?" Sara asked.

"Look outside. However, don't step off. Gravity is different here. I could not save you if you were to fall."

Sara walked over to the door and opened it. Her breath was stolen away. They sat near what looked like a rip across the sky. Bright lights of every color Sara knew, and colors she had never seen before, mixed and bled into blackness. On one side of the rip were stars as far as the eye could see. On the other was a black so deep that no light could ever shine inside of it. As breathtaking as that sight was, it wasn't what stole Sara's breath. It was the sound. It was low, almost inaudible, something she imagined angels must sing.

"This is…" Sara smiled, leaning against the door.

She looked at TARDIS when she joined her. It took her a moment to realize—

"Oh! Let me get that door for you," Sara said.

She opened the second door and the two stood in the doorway with the end and beginning of space laid out before them.

"There are no words for this, are there?" Sara asked.

"None."

Sara leaned back against the wall. "If you had to pick your favorite place in the entire universe, anywhere in time, what would it be?" TARDIS began to respond but Sara held up a finger. "Nye. Don't tell me, show me."

TARDIS stared at her. "My favorite place is the beginning of time and space, in the seconds after it has begun. But I would be late returning for the Doctor and his companion if I show this to you."

"I thought you could travel through time."

"Time is much slower there and even I am affected by this. If I were to try altering this effect, it would cause irreparable damage to all time lines."

"Ah. I don't understand most of what you said, but I do understand irreparable damage. Best we not fiddle with it then." Sara smiled. "How about something else. Maybe a place with flowers I've never seen before?"

The TARDIS stared at her. "Close the doors, Sara."

Sara did. She walked back to the stairs and sat down. "So where are we off to now?"

TARDIS turned to her. "I will show you my favorite place in time and history."

"We're going to the beginning of space and time?"

"Yes."

"But you just said that—"

"They are safe at Woodstock, and I believe I can make it shortly after they return to my original location. They will simply have to wait." The hologram disappeared.

Sara fell back against the stairs when the TARDIS jerked. She smiled.

"Alright, but you might be asking for trouble if you get back late."

TARDIS smiled a little. "Then I get in trouble."

The two shared an impish smile.

-#-

The Doctor and Clara trudged up the road. They were both muddy and soaked.

"I didn't know the tent would leak if I touched it while it was raining," he told her.

She shot him a dark look. "I told you it would. You ignored me."

"It was an accident."

They turned off the road, heading toward the grove of trees.

"I just want dry clothes and a shower."

He smiled. "You have to admit this was a good idea otherwise."

She almost smiled. "Yes it was."

The two entered the grove and walked through them. The Doctor stopped suddenly, looking around him. He whipped out his sonic screwdriver, waved it around the area, looked at it, waived it around again.

"What's wrong, Doctor?"

"The TARDIS is gone."

"No. It's just further in the trees."

"No. It was right here. I left her right here. She's gone!"

"Did you reset everything again?"

"No. I left her right here, Clara."

Clara sat down on a log and pushed back her muddy, wet hair. "Great. Now I'm stuck in 1969, wet, muddy, hungry, and tired. Our next adventure had better be to someplace tropical and warm."

"The TARDIS is gone, Clara! There will be no next adventure without it!"

He suddenly jumped back. Clara got to her feet, joining him. They watched the TARDIS reappear before them. When it finished, neither moved. Clara finally snuck a look at the Doctor's face. He stared at the machine as if it was going to bite him.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"Sort of, but—," Clara answered.

"Not you. Sh," he told her.

With apprehensive steps, he walked toward the TARDIS. "Did I do something wrong?"

The door opened. He heard someone talking inside. He glanced at Clara, then back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor walked in, following the voice. He found a girl sitting on the stairs; she was the person talking. She was plain looking. Her dark auburn hair that looked more brown than reddish. It was cropped at the bottom of her neck. She had typical hazel eyes, an average mouth. She was a tall, thin girl, with long legs, hands, and fingers, probably even a few inches taller than The Doctor when she stood. She was average in appearance and gangly – not ugly, just… simple, plain, tall.

She smiled at him, continuing to talk. "So there I am," she told the air, "this waif of a girl holding on for dear life to the mane of this wild pony."

"Who are you talking to?" Doctor Who asked her.

The girl motioned him to wait.

He glanced behind him. Clara stood at a safe distance, staring suspiciously at the stranger. The Doctor turned his attention back to the girl, debating what to do. There didn't appear to be anything dangerous about the girl, and the TARDIS was not acting like she felt threatened by the girl or that the girl shouldn't be there. Since TARDIS was a good judge of character, usually, he decided to wait as the girl had suggested, and see what interesting adventure was about to unfold.

"And we were headed toward the stone wall. I was certain we were going to run headlong into it. Then a few meters before it, the pony stops. Just stops! I flew over its head, but I held onto those reins. I wasn't about to walk back home, not after that ride. I rolled down the hill and could hear the pony running too. I didn't know where he was. Everything was blurry. I land in the marsh at the bottom and get covered in mud. Then I laid there – waiting to see if I was dead or alive. I look up, and this stupid pony is standing over me, staring me, as if it wanted to know why I was on the ground!" The woman laughed as she climbed to her feet. "And that is how I learned to ride and was able to get a job as a trainer at a horse farm in the United States."

The Doctor spun around when the controls began to flicker, things whirred, and somewhere a horn honked. The TARDIS was reacting to the story! And he realized that meant his TARDIS liked this girl, this complete stranger, and suddenly she was the most intriguing thing he'd met all day!

"Sara."

He turned, finding her holding out her hand for a handshake.

"The Doctor." He shook her hand. "You were telling my TARDIS a story. Fascinating. Tell me how you even knew she was listening to you."

"She's not your TARDIS. You're her Doctor. At least that's what she believes. We've been talking since the day after you went to Woodstock, while we were out adventuring."

Her correction excited him more. "Oh TARDIS, you took your new friend adventuring! Now, my dear," he said to Sara, "semantics aside, how… She? Why did you call the TARDIS _she_?"

Sara had turned to gather her belongings next to the pillows. She shouldered her knapsack. "She believes that she's a she. What do you believe she is?"

"I… A she. You two have been talking a while."

Sara smiled. "Well, I best go before a search party is sent out for me. It was good to meet you. And you as well Clara."

"You know my name?" Clara asked.

"Of course I know your name. TARDIS told me." Sara stopped next to Clara, telling her with a wink. "I've heard you two haven't gotten on yet. Give a room a good scrubbing every so often. She says it must be what getting your back scratched feels like."

Sara walked out of the TARDIS.

Clara turned to the Doctor, who wore a giant grin. She couldn't help but reflect it.

"Doctor? What do you know?"

He turned, looking up at the rings overhead. "What have you been up to, you clever girl?" he asked with a hint of deviousness. "Tell me about this new friend of yours."

A screen flashed and he turned to it. On it appeared: _Making friends. Your ninth generation met her grandmother and she recalled the woman's stories of me, of you. She began talking to me and gave me a radio to keep me company when you're away._

"You don't need a radio, my dear."

 _It was a gift._

He grinned. "Ah. In that case, my dear, you definitely needed a radio!"

 _Do you like her?_

"I think she's adorable! And I can see she's taken a shine to you. Are you going to come back to see her soon?"

On the screen printed: _Time permitting_

"That's the spirit! You have a new friend to gallivant with. Is she daring?"

 _No. We visited quiet places, safe places._

"And you enjoyed that, did you?"

 _I think I did. I enjoy our journeys and adventures but this was… different. We talked a lot._

"Oh, my dear TARDIS, we don't talk as much as we used to in the beginning. I am sorry for that."

 _Don't be sorry. We talk enough. But now I have Sara when I need someone else to talk to._

"And one can never have enough good friends. I commend you for taking a risk. Just—"

"Doctor," Clara quietly said.

He turned to her. "Hm?"

"It doesn't disturb you that some strange woman was in here talking to your ship?"

"Technically, Sara was right. The TARDIS isn't my ship so much as I'm her Doctor. And she's a sentient being, prone to emotions just like you. So no. Besides, she never would have let the girl in if she didn't trust her. TARDIS doesn't trust many people like—"

"Like me?"

"She will. I told you, she's like a cat. Cautious and distrustful when she first meets you."

Clara picked at imaginary lint on the console. "Your cat likes a complete stranger over me."

The Doctor smiled when she looked up. "She will warm up to you. You said she used a hologram of you. That means something positive, I'm sure. She likes you; she's just not very open about it."

Clara flashed a half-hearted smile. "Will she go off on her own to visit this new friend of hers?"

"Yes. She will."

"Won't that leave us stranded?"

"From time to time, but she'll always come back. Although…" He turned back to the screen. "Usually you're here before I come back. Why were you late this time?"

On the screen printed: _We went to the beginning of the universe_.

"Ohhhhh." He grinned. "That is the best reason for being tardy!"

"What?" Clara looked at the screen. "What does the beginning of the universe mean?"

He grinned. "She likes the start of time and space over all other times or places. She'd probably stay there forever if she could. She took her new friend to see it."

Clara looked at the floor, then the screen. "Could… I see it?"

There wasn't an answer. It looked like the answer was no.

"Well," the Doctor began to say to Clara, "where should we—"

He was interrupted by a print on the screen: _Yes._

The Doctor smiled at Clara. "Remember, just like a cat."

Clara smiled, sidling up to him. "Thank you, TARDIS."

 _Yes,_ appeared on the screen again.

-#-

Sara sat on the log, looking at her sneakers. She glanced at the post card that sat on her knapsack beside her. It had been sent from Taos and the only text written on it was a date and time. The Doctor had come up with the idea so she would know when and what day to expect her friend, the TARDIS, to return for a visit.

She looked up when she heard the TARDIS approaching and then it materialized. The door opened. She picked up her knapsack and postcard and walked inside, finding the control room empty.

"Are the two off on some perilous adventure?" Sara asked.

A hologram of Clara appeared nearby. "Yes. Shall we join them?"

She looked at Clara. "I don't care for a perilous or dangerous or pretty much anything those two have told me about. Let's avoid peril altogether."

"Some place tropical. Some place warm."

"A nice, quiet beach sounds wonderful. Maybe later we can do snow."

TARDIS smiled. "I know just the place!"

The door slammed shut and away the two friends went.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sara watched the TARDIS appear and smiled when it was finally solid.

"Hello," she said, and the door opened.

She walked inside and immediately stopped. The Doctor stood at the console, wearing a mischievous grin.

"I quite imagine this must be what the grandmother felt like right before the wolf ate her," Sara told him.

"Oh Sara, plain and tall, you worry too much."

He whirled around and started fiddling with the controls. The door closed behind Sara.

"I didn't expect to see you two…" she paused, realizing it was a one, not a two, in the room. "Where's Clara?"

"She had some bibs and bobs to attend. Couldn't make it this trip."

"That makes no sense. Try again."

"She had a funeral. I'm not good with funerals."

"I imagine not." Sara walked closer, watching him engage, push, pull, press, and type. "So where are you off to then?"

TARDIS appeared next to Sara. She smiled at her friend, but said nothing.

"The ball of Reginal Regional Proper Grand Kagrean."

"That's the mouth full. So some planet?"

"No. That's the title of the man," he reached under the controls and did something, "who is something of a king on Reginal Prime."

"That's still a mouthful." Sara sat down on the nearest set of stairs. "And what peril is he in?"

The Doctor stood up straight. "My dear Sara, plain and tall, he is not in trouble. He is having a ball."

She hesitated. "Such as a real ball? With gowns, dancing…"

"A masquerade ball, but yes. And he invited us."

"Us? Clara and you?"

"Me plus one. You're my plus one."

Sara laughed. "No. I am not your plus one. I know how you like to adventure, you love peril, and danger, and to mess about with time and space. I am not your plus one. That's Clara."

"There will be no adventure." He suddenly disappeared behind the control. "TARDIS, my dear, what is this flashing light for?"

"The cleaning droid by room 4,203 is malfunctioning. It has been for some time and you ask me about it every time you see the flashing light," TARDIS replied.

"Right." He reappeared. "As I was saying, Sara, no adventure, peril, danger, messing about with time and space. It is simply a ball."

"Simply does not exist in your vocabulary. Well, it does, you just don't really grasp the meaning of it."

He suddenly rushed over and sat down next to her. "TARDIS and I have talked from time to time about the adventures you go on."

"If you wish to call them that. I don't anymore after learning what you and Clara do."

"Adventure can be anything that is not something you do every day. Would you agree to that?"

"I could, if I didn't know you better."

He laughed, shaking a finger at her. "Not one to pull wool over your nose."

"Or eyes, for that matter," she kindly corrected him.

"Yes, well, wool or not, when was the last time you went to a ball?"

"I've never been."

"And one that was put on by royalty? That was lavish and succulent and fanciful and exuberant?"

"Since I've never been to one, I'll say never, again."

He laughed. She smiled.

"That's what his balls are like. And I even picked out the perfect gown for you. You'll be stunning."

"Doctor, who I do so like and very much enjoy talking about balls with—"

He laughed at her joke. She paused to give him the moment, then continued.

"I am not going to this ball, or anywhere else outside of the TARDIS with you. I don't like what you do."

"I told you, this ball is none of that. Think… Safe. It's safe."

"Even when you don't go looking for trouble, Doctor, it always finds you. Somehow, it always finds you."

"Not this time."

She narrowed her eyes. "No. This is wrong. There is no way you'd do something so dull, so mundane, like going to a ball."

"I would! I am going to! I am doing it for my dear TARDIS and my Sara, plain and tall."

"Oh? I'm your Sara now?"

"Well, technically, our – TARDIS and mine – but yes, at the ball, mine. My plus one."

She teetered on the edge of agreeing, then shook her head. "No. You are a magnet of trouble, peril, and disaster. I can't trust that."

"Do you really not trust me?"

"You? Yes. Your fate or whatever it may be, no. It doesn't seem to have your best interest at heart."

He considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "Now that I would agree with." He turned his eyes back to her, smiling. "It's a very pretty dress, matching shoes. You'll be stunning. And I spent a fortune on it."

"Now he's exaggerating," TARDIS chimed in.

"I did!" he retorted, smiling at her.

Sara looked in her direction. She was looking at the monitor with her hands pulled behind her back.

"Tell me, TARDIS, is what he says true about this ball? Is there no peril, danger, adventure?"

She looked at Sara. "As far as I can tell, he is correct. But, Doctor, Sara is correct in that you attract danger. It may be safe now, but when you walk through the door, all bets are off."

"Is this the part where human men beg to get their human women to go along with their plan?" he asked.

Sara and TARDIS both laughed. Sara laughed hard enough she began to cry.

"What did I say?" he asked.

She laid her hand on his shoulder. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay. I will go. But, the minute peril appears, danger starts up, or adventure becomes your kind of adventure, I am coming back to TARDIS and you're on your own to fix your own disaster."

"I think that's fair. Don't you think that's fair?" he asked TARDIS.

"No. Because you still won't tell me why you suddenly decided to do this. She is right about the fact that attending a ball is not you. It's boring, quiet, not terribly exciting by your standards."

He sat up straight. "Well, it seems to be that you and Sara have been going on these types of adventures quite often, and you seem to enjoy them, as does Sara, plain and tall. So I decided that while Clara had to be away, I'd give one of your adventures a try. Just to see what you two found so entertaining or interesting about them."

Sara was too surprised to think of what to say. TARDIS' silence was hard to decide since her face reflected no emotion. She slowly walked over to him and leaned over, staring for a long time into his face.

"I'm unconvinced," TARDIS told him. She walked away. "I'll be watching, Doctor. And if something appears out of the normal, I will come to take Sara away. I expect you to be attentive while she's with you, and protect her."

He smiled when TARDIS turned around. "I will take good care of our Sara, plain and tall, my dear."

TARDIS nodded her approval once and disappeared.

"Have you ever read the book?" he asked her.

"What book?"

"Sara, plain and tall."

"I can't say that I have."

He suddenly popped the heel of his hand against his forehead. "Of course you haven't! It won't be published for another sixteen years! Well, on one of your type of adventures with TARDIS, you should read it. It's in the library. I noticed when I peruse the logs you spend a lot of time there. Like reading do you?"

Sara laughed. "I do, and I will." She grew very serious. "Now, about this dress you're so proud of, let's see it. And I'll be the judge if it was worth the few dollars you spent on it."

"It was more than a few dollars, for someone. I didn't actually buy it, so much as borrowed it."

"You lifted it?"

"I borrowed it. I plan on putting it back. Eventually."

"So you lifted it."

"Oh trust me. This ball is so far from the time and place it was lifted from, no one will notice."

She shook her head but laughed again.

He stood and held his elbow out. She stood up next to him, sliding her arm around his, and the two headed down the hall at the top of the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Clara had been trying to accept with the new face, the new behaviors, the new everything for so long she'd lost track of time. And now, there was this. The shooting, the running, the yelling… She huddled behind the Doctor while he fiddled with his sonic sunglasses.

"I think…" He stopped. "No. That's not it."

Behind them she heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS and looked over her shoulder. It was appearing behind them, right where she'd convinced the Doctor to call it to. She grabbed his arm.

"Come on!" Clara said.

He pulled away from her, still fiddling.

"DOCTOR, COME ON!"

"I have to stop the—"

Someone shooting a laser or plasma or whatever it was shot past her and something exploded behind them, showering them with shrapnel.

Clara begged, "Please, Doctor. We have to leave now."

He gave in and they ran to the TARDIS. Clara hurriedly unlocked the door with her key and they bolted inside. The Doctor stood just inside the door, staring at it. Outside they could hear the fighting getting closer.

"We have to leave, Doctor!"

He didn't do anything.

Clara ran over to the controls, quickly getting them off the hostile planet. Suddenly a word appeared on the screen: _SARA_. Clara nodded a couple times and made the adjustments. The TARDIS quickly left this place, heading for someplace much calmer, quieter, and with the one friend she and Clara desperately needed right now.

-#-

Sara sat on the log, poking a stick in the ground. She heard the TARDIS approaching and stood up. It materialized and then nothing happened. Sara looked puzzled.

"Is something wrong?" she asked it.

The door opened and Clara walked up to Sara, throwing her arms around her. Sara was surprised, but she held her anyway. And found Clara trembling slightly. She looked past her at the old man who appeared in the door of the TARDIS.

"Where is this?" he asked. Then he disappeared back inside without waiting for an answer.

"I am so glad to see you," Clara said.

"I am glad to see you, as well. What is going on?"

Clara stepped back and revealed tears. "I'm stressed out. Really, really stressed out. I just needed to go somewhere I knew was safe and catch my breath. You don't mind do you? I didn't even think we'd make it at the rate we were going, or that you'd get the postcard in time."

Sara shook her head. She looked at the hologram of TARDIS when she appeared next to the women.

"You both look frazzled."

"I would also request tactile support if I could," TARDIS softly said. "Clara, he's trying to leave. You need to stop him."

Clara went back inside.

"What is happening here?" Sara asked TARDIS.

"The Doctor lost his memories when he regenerated and he has been extremely difficult to deal with as they've returned. We both just needed somewhere safe and quiet to pull ourselves together."

Sara cocked her head. "I don't know what you mean by regenerate. How does a person regenerate?"

"He isn't a person, a human, if you'll recall. His kind regenerate every so often, or when they die, and usually they retain their memories with their new body. That did not happen for him this time, and I don't know why."

"That old man is The Doctor now?"

"He is the twelfth regeneration of him, yes."

The Doctor stormed out, straight up to Sara and stopped. Clara jogged after him.

"This is Sara," Clara said.

He snapped his sunglasses on, looking her up and down, then turned to Clara. "She's human. This is Earth. Why are we here?"

"We were just about killed. I thought a bit of calm before we ran off to our next brush with death was in order."

He turned back to Sara. "I don't know you. Why don't I know you?"

Sara was frank with him. "You have no memories, would be my guess."

"I should know you?"

"Aye."

"You're Irish."

"Aye."

"This is the United States."

"Again, aye."

"This is the strangest place to come for calm. Do you have any idea what's happening here right now?" he asked Clara.

"Here? In the United States?" she asked.

"In the world. There's a war happening. We should go fix something there." He strode back into the TARDIS.

"Can't you just block him or something?" Clara asked TARDIS.

"I am trying too, but he hasn't forgotten the controls."

"What about the safety feature you've been working on?"

"I'm still working on it," TARDIS said with exasperation.

Clara grabbed Sara's hand. "Let's go on an adventure."

"You know I don't adventure like you, Clara."

"Just one. It'll be fun!"

"Your adventures are not my belief of _fun_."

"You can stay with me when they go," TARDIS offered.

Sara slowly sighed. She could see both really wanted her to go.

"And what of him?"

"He probably won't even notice you're there," Clara answered. "He barely notices _I'm_ there."

Sara heaved a slow sigh. "Very well, but—"

Clara was pulling her into the TARDIS before she could finish her sentence.

-#-

Sara stared at the chess board, considering her move. She reached out and moved a holograph piece, then tapped the holograph of a clock sitting on the edge of the bistro table.

"How long have they been gone?"

"Two hours," TARDIS answered. She sat across from Sara, studying the board for her next move. She moved a piece and tapped the clock. "Check."

Time drifted while Sara considered her next move. She reached out to make it when the door flew open. In came Clara and The Doctor. They were both were dirty. The Doctor was still zipping around with an abundance of energy, but Clara looked like she could drop where she stood and fall asleep before she hit the floor. Clara sat down on the bottom of the stairs, watching the Doctor rush around the controls, fiddling with a toggle, lifting a lever, pushing buttons, moving the monitors back and forth.

Sara turned back to the game and moved her piece. She noticed TARDIS flickered when the Doctor set them off to some new location.

"You said—" Sara softly began.

TARDIS nodded. "When he's turned away I'll reset the course. You'll be home in time for supper."

Sara smiled, then looked back down at the chess board.

"Well, that was worth setting things right," the Doctor announced as he turned to Clara.

Clara just stared at him. Sara glanced at the two, then tilted her head slightly to the side. "Did he change coats?"

"Yes. They were gone for nearly two months in the time outside," TARDIS replied.

"And that's why he changed coats?" Sara asked, looking back at the chess board. She moved a game piece.

"I would imagine so."

Sara shrugged. TARDIS made a move.

A hand reached between her and TARDIS and began moving the pieces at a fast pace. She looked up, glaring just slightly at the Doctor. He quickly ended the game and then stared back at her with his dark, brooding, scowl.

"That was impolite," Sara informed him.

"You were about to lose. I won for you."

"That was impolite," she repeated.

"You're ungrateful."

"I hold no candle to you, Doctor number twelve," Sara haughtily snapped back. "This new incarnation of you is rude, dodgy, malice, and an overall ass. Where can we get the old you back; I liked that bloke. He was thoughtful, considerate, and funny. If you had to tell a joke to save your life, you'd die."

Behind them Sara saw Clara stand and walk toward the stairs that led up to the two. She stopped mid-way, cautiously watching the two. Perhaps she was expecting a fist fight to break out, or something worse. Sara didn't care. She only cared about this asshole that was trying to intimidate her.

The Doctor leaned in, scowling harder. Sara held her composure under his contempt, returning it with an equal amount of anger.

"You know, Sara O'Dwyer, you aren't _exactly_ been a ray of sunshine! You haven't even left the TARDIS since you joined us because you too scared, scared of what - peril and danger is it? Peril and danger are everywhere, every day! Get over it! You are equally rude, scared, and waste our oxygen! Perhaps you should go home now."

"You won't have to worry about that after this last one. I am going home."

His scowl gave way to surprise. "You're leaving?"

"I am."

"I told you that yesterday, before we blew things up," Clara informed him.

"Yes, well, I didn't think you were really leaving. Parasites often stick around until they're eradicated."

Sara smiled in the face of his taunt. She decided it wasn't worth giving into. "Then aren't you overjoyed that I'm leaving."

He stood up, then turned to face TARDIS. "And I supposed that means every now and again you'll strand us," he crossly asked her.

"I will not strand you if I believe you to be in danger, Doctor. You know that."

"I know nothing of the sort. You've left to gallivant across the universe with this one since the first time we picked her up." He hiked a thumb at Sara.

"We're friends. We do that."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Which you don't."

"Oh, I will." He walked away.

Sara watched TARDIS. She was trying very hard to remain calm.

"You will not," her voice boomed from every audible source inside the machine.

The Doctor stopped. He turned to find she had moved from the chair to right behind him. She glared at him.

"I have been patient, as patient as I can be. I do not belong to you. You belong to me. If I say I will go someplace, you will allow it. If you stop me, I will stop you."

"Stop me? How?"

"Think very hard, Doctor. Think very, very hard before you ever make a threat like that again." And the hologram disappeared.

He scowled at Sara. "You need to leave. She has been mouthy ever since we first met you."

"Before, or after you became this person you are now?"

"I am not a person."

"Aye. That is a fact." Sara got up and walked down the nearest steps. She crossed the control area toward the door.

"And what does that mean?" he demanded, leaning on the railing.

She stopped and turned to him. "The Doctor I know would never threaten to hobble TARDIS the way you just did. He would be happy for her to spend time with her friend, not be jealous."

"I'm not jealous."

"Not being able to admit when you are jealous is the first clue that you _are_." Sara walked out of the TARDIS.

He turned to Clara and bellowed, "I am not jealous!"

"Yes," Clara calmly told him, "you are."

He stormed off into the TARDIS. Clara sighed and walked out of the TARDIS into the grove. It was a chilly autumn night, and she wrapped her arms around her for warmth. Gold and red leaves crunched on her feet as she walked over to the log and sat next to Sara.

"Sorry I made him angry," Sara told her, "but he had it coming."

"He needs to be made angry. He needs to be made jealous. Something has to bring him back to us."

"That would be you, Clara. Only you can do that."

Clara smiled. She sat down beside Sara. "We're off again. I guess we'll see each other later."

"Don't make it too much later. I might get awfully lonely. Take good care of Tara."

Clara smiled. "I'll never be able to call her that."

"She likes it."

"Clara hugged Sara and stood up. She waved as she went back inside.

The TARDIS began to disappear. "And you take care of yourself, TARDIS. Don't let him push you around too much. Friends don't behave like that to each other; least not the good ones."

And the TARDIS was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sara was awakened by the sound of the TARDIS materializing outside. She lived in the apartment over the stables and could see down into the pasture and exercise arena. She walked to her bedroom window and found a foot of snow had fallen since she'd climbed into bed, which only made the blue telephone box with its red light on top stand out more. Sara dressed and hurried down to the TARDIS. The door opened and she walked into an empty control room.

"Tara, what are you doing here? There wasn't a postcard. What's happening?"

TARDIS appeared. The hologram was crying and twitched in and out, almost like she was trembling. She looked terrified, an expression that was uncommon for her. "I don't know! We went to London to help a friend of Clara's." Her crying increased with each word. "They were looking for a street that didn't exist and then I lost them. Both of them! And now I don't know what to do, and—"

"Okay, okay. First, Tara, stop talking and collect yourself. Then, you need to move. If someone sees you in the middle of the pasture that will cause more problems."

"I moved us to the Alps when you entered."

"Good. Now, explain to me what you mean by you lost them both."

"I can sense my doctor, Sara. I know where he is at all times, no matter where he is in time, I know. I can always find him. But not this time. This time he's disappeared. I cannot sense him _anywhere_ in time or space. It is as if he's vanished or… Or he's died. But he cannot die. He regenerates. But I can sense him even when he's regenerating! I have… I've lost him, Sara. I've lost my Doctor!"

"Okay." Sara walked up to TARDIS and patted the air that was the hologram's shoulder. "We'll sort this out. We will. Can you find Clara?"

"That has become even stranger. After they disappeared, I found her obituary, and then—"

"Clara is dead?"

"She's supposed to be, but then I find reports and mentions of a Clara Oswald across time nearly two million years later. This doesn't make any sense, Sara. I think he has done something very terrible."

"Hasn't he done something terrible before? What about that time you told me—"

"I have never lost him and then only found information about his companion, especially dying and then showing up two million years later. And then there's Gallifrey."

"Galla… Who?"

"What. It's a what. It's the Doctor's home world."

"What of it?"

"It has suddenly appeared in time. Two million years later."

"S this Galla… Galla…"

"Gallifrey."

"It sounds like it's a planet."

"It is."

"And it was missing before?"

"It was hidden."

"And two million years from now it reappears?"

"Yes."

"How does a planet disappear or reappear?"

"You're talking about Time Lords, remember?" TARDIS snapped.

Sara nodded slowly. "I'm trying to follow along here, Tara. I know you're scared, but please don't take it out on me."

"I'm sorry."

"Okay. So this disappeared planet reappeared. What of it?"

"It's irrelevant right now. The relevant matter is that it reappears two millions years after the Doctor disappeared, at the same time Clara suddenly reappears. Sara, I know you don't like adventures or peril but I'm scared, Sara. Please go with me. Please help me find him. I have to find my Doctor!"

"Then we'd better get moving."

TARDIS smiled, starting to cry again. "You'll really help me? It might be dangerous or perilous. I don't know."

"I'll bend my rule this one time. Deal?"

"Thank you." The hologram hugged her, in a hologram sense.

"You're welcome. Now, let's start with the last place you last recalled having your Doctor."

TARDIS smiled and laughed a little. "Like a pair of glasses."

"In his case, sunglasses."

TARDIS nodded. "Here. This was the last place. I heard them say they found the hidden street." The door opened.

Sara looked at the door. "I do hate peril." She looked back at TARDIS. "You do understand how dear you are to me if I'm doing this, don't you?"

TARDIS laid a hologram hand against Sara's. "More than you know, Sara. Thank you so much."

Sara nodded and set out to find the answers TARDIS needed. Answers that led her to a perilous meeting with Ashildr, running away from The General on Gallifrey, a tense meeting with the Sisterhood of Karn, to an empty chair with the universe on the verge of collapse, and finally to…

#

Clara left a shiny new TARDIS to Sara outside. She waited next to the old blue TARDIS, one hand resting on the corner like she was trying to reassure the sentient being that was the TARDIS. Around them the Nevada desert stretched for miles. The dry hot land looked silent, but in reality there were bugs making noise, shrill birds singing, and the sound of a light breeze rustling dried plants and leaves. This land was as alive as any other place on Earth.

The sun seemed brighter here and Clara noticed that Sara's hair looked more red and her skin was paler with a denser splattering of freckles. She wasn't 'Sara, plain and tall,' as the eleventh incarnation of The Doctor lovingly referred to her. Here in the desert she was a beauty that the woods of New York and the low light inside the TARDIS hid. Or, perhaps, everything appeared more beautiful when a person was caught in the second between living and dying.

"Thank you for bringing her here," Clara said.

Sara nodded. "Tara is very scared and worried. She couldn't find him. Why did he suddenly appear? Why was she suddenly able to find him?"

"It's probably best you don't know. TARDIS, I need you stay here while I take Sara home. I'll be back in a flash with him and you two can leave."

The hologram of Clara appeared. "How fast is a flash?"

"Oh…" Clara hadn't seen the hologram for so long that she'd forgotten TARDIS wore her face. "TARDIS, you have to change your appearance. You can't look like me anymore. He doesn't remember me and he never can."

"What has happened? Why can't he remember you?" TARDIS asked.

"It's better if we leave it that. Change your appearance before he sees your graphic interface again."

"That's not ominous," Sara sarcastically shot.

"If you want I will explain it to you after we leave but TARDIS must now know anything. She cannot give him his memories back."

Sara looked from one to the other, trying to decide if she really wanted to know. TARDIS' sad expression was what finally helped her decide. "No. I don't want to have to lie to Tara. If I don't know, there will be no secrets between us."

TARIDS almost smiled.

Clara nodded. "Come on." Clara went back into the new TARDIS.

Sara turned to TARDIS. "Can you change your face now? So I'll know it when I see you again?"

The TARDIS appearance changed instantly. She was now raven haired, with black eyes. A strange tattoo ran down her neck and right arm, and she wore red leather.

"That is an interesting choice."

"Too much?"

"If you like it, then no."

"I think I do."

"Then it's settled. I shall see you sooner than later, aye?"

"Aye."

Sara went into the new TARDIS and it disappeared. The hologram of TARDIS stood for a while, staring across the desert. She looked lost. She was without her Doctor, a companion, or her best friend.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

He stared at the doors, uncertain of what to do. It startled him when someone or something knocked on the door

"Where are we?" the Doctor asked the TARDIS. "Where have you brought me?"

She didn't respond.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked her.

She didn't answer. He turned and stared at the screen. It told him he was in New York, 1976, sixty miles from Woodstock, New York.

The thing outside knocked again.

Cautiously he moved toward the door. He reached for the handle, but then pulled back at the last second. What if it was—

The knocking started again and didn't stop. He realized he either had to answer or this was going to go on for a while. The Doctor threw open the door, prepared to fight.

He and the human woman standing outside stared at one another. He didn't notice that she was carrying a large, overfilled duffel bag on one shoulder. He didn't notice that she was not surprised to see him in the slightest. He was too focused on her face because it looked familiar, so very, very familiar, yet he couldn't recall who she was. He couldn't understand why looking at her face made him feel irritated and annoyed. He didn't like this woman, he realized that. He didn't hat her. This was more of a dislike, perhaps a strong one, because she irritated and annoyed him. Why did she do that? It was because the two had a past that he couldn't remember. That was it. But… That past – he could sense it now – that irritation and annoyance had only begun after his recent regeneration. The previous doctor had liked her, a great deal in fact. He had thought highly of her. But the Doctor who he was now did not feel the same. Why? What was it about her that annoyed him so much? What was it about her that grated on his nerves so easily?

"Who are you? Why do I find you so annoying?" he demanded.

"I'm Sara," she answered with an Irish accent, "and probably because you and I haven't gotten on since your last regeneration or whatever it is you did that gave you this," she waved a hand in a circle before his face, "old, cranky, looks like you just ate a lemon, face, is why we annoy each other as we do."

That definitely irritated him. It was no wonder he didn't like this woman. "I don't like your face either."

"So you've said. I'm too plain for you, you've told me."

"You are plain. Ordinary. It's not appealing at all."

"Which is why you always introduce me as 'Sara, tall and ever so plain,' I believe."

"Why are you knocking on my door?"

"Because you had it locked and TARDIS couldn't open it without an actual key, she said."

"TARDIS? This is the TARDIS. You make it sound like TARDIS is a person."

"Oh this just pisses all! We really must have to have _this_ conversation again?" Sara asked him.

"What conversation?"

"Do you not remember that TARDIS is sentient, not just a time machine or a ship. She has feelings, and thoughts, and right now, her thought and feelings are that she needs a friend while she deals with her Doctor being daft and companionless."

There was that irritation again. She was very good at annoying him! "I am not daft! I'm The Doctor. She's my TARDIS. And she doesn't have friends."

Sara laughed, mocking everything he'd just said. "Saying that, you are being daft, and being a bit of an ass, too. Just like the postcard suggested." Sara held up a postcard that showed an actual ass kicking a red telephone booth. Someone had colored the red blue with a pen and put a red light on the top.

He snatched it away from her, looking at both sides several times. The other side had a stamp, a date, and a time written on it. He didn't recognize the handwriting. "Where'd you get this?"

"The mail."

"From whom?"

"That is a right good question. Usually you send them, but since you don't remember sending this one, then clearly we have someone else mixing the pot. Let's play a different game, shall we?"

"Game? I'm not playing a game."

"I am. It's called let me in and we can play all the twenty questions you like inside."

He stared at her. "No." He slammed the door shut and walked toward the center console.

The door opened. He turned and watched Sara walk in. Suddenly a hologram of a black haired, red-leather clad woman appeared between them.

"Sara will be joining us for a while, Doctor."

"TARDIS?" he asked, staring at the hologram.

"Yes," TARDIS answered.

"When did you change to that look? That's not right for you."

"You do not recall what I have ever looked like. Sara will be joining us for a while."

"I don't know her and I do not like her!"

"That doesn't matter. She will be joining us for a while."

"I chose my own companions."

"Yes, you do. And the sooner would definitely be better," TARDIS replied.

"If I should choose my own companions, why is she coming with us?" he asked, walking toward Sara and waving a hand. He stopped with his fingers a few inches from her nose. Sara batted his hand away.

"Because I say she does. You should know that we are no longer being pursued. You may continue on with your journey, Doctor. Sara, I have your room ready if you'd like to get settled in."

"Yep," Sara said, walking around the Doctor and up the stairs. She turned into the first hall.

"I don't need her here," he told TARDIS.

"I know you don't."

"Then why is she here, TARDIS? Why did you let her come in? Tell her to leave."

"I will not. Go where you will, Doctor. Perhaps you could spend some time searching for a companion. Wouldn't that be lovely? But for now, Sara stays." TARDIS turned off the hologram.

He threw up his hands and went to the console.

-#-

The Doctor fled into the TARDIS and slammed the door shut, just as the blast wave hit the outside. The TARDIS rocked a little and then the blast was past. He panted a couple of times before standing up. He walked over to the console, working the controls.

"I needed help this time," he told the TARDIS.

There was no reply.

"If I'm to have a companion it would be useful if that companion actually companioned."

Still no response. He stormed up the stairs and down the hall. He found Sara lounging in a massive library reading a book that had been written by a race that had been extinct a million years before her Neanderthal ancestors walked Earth.

"Good book?" he asked in a cool tone.

"Yes, actually," she answered. "I felt the TARDIS rock. Did you blow up whatever you wanted to blow up?"

"Yes. Thank you for asking."

"Was it as fun as you thought it would be?"

"I never said it was going to be fun. I knew there would be casualties when it happened. I was trying to prevent it. I could have prevented it if my companion had been with me."

"I agree with that. You do realize she's quite mad at you for going it alone, don't you?"

"The TARDIS?"

"Yes."

"She is mad that I did this alone?"

"Yes."

"I'm quite mad about that myself."

Sara looked up at him. "Oh? Then you'll be looking for a companion now?"

"That is you. You are my companion, and as such you are supposed to accompany me when I… do things!" he told her.

Calmly she told him, "I am not your companion. We have been over this, Doctor."

"You are. You have been traveling with me for a while now—"

"Two weeks, in my own timeline, yes, but I am _not_ your companion."

"Then why have you been traveling with me?"

"I have been traveling with the TARDIS, not you."

"The TARDIS is mine therefore—"

"Again, Doctor, the TARDIS is not yours. You are hers. Why are we constantly repeating this conversation?"

"Stop interrupting me! And that's nonsense! The TARDIS belongs to me."

Sara smiled. "No. And the other you understood that. Before you lost your memoires, you understood that. You need to get that fastened in your head, Doctor. She is not yours, you are hers, _and_ I am not your companion."

"Then why are you here? You both have told me it's for her, not me. Explain that. Or are you going to ignore the question completely, again?"

She looked at her book, considering. She looked up at him and nodded once. "You're right. You should know. The answer is, Doctor, Tara, the TARDIS, is stressed out and at her wits end over taking care of you. She asked me to join her for a while because she needed someone to vent to and a shoulder to lean on, as much as a hologram can. That isn't to say you aren't her friend, and she's taken care of you before when there wasn't a companion, but this time you have been particularly difficult to take care of because you lost your memories, and she doesn't know why or how that happened. She's just as scared as you are, Doctor. So she asked me to help her through this period, while she helped you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, but—"

"I wasn't finished. As for the companion… I am not your companion. If that's a term you feel better using, then I am her companion. You, my dear Doctor, find your own companion. One who as adventurous as you, who doesn't take issue risking life and limb, and who is happy living in constant peril. None of which I am. Therefore, you see, Doctor, I would be a terrible companion for you, _if_ that were the case. And it is not." She looked back at her book. "Close the door on your way out, Doctor."

"This conversation isn't over."

An alarm went off. Sara looked up, then at him. "It would appear fate believes otherwise. Have fun adventuring, Doctor. Do be safe."

"How do I get rid of you?" he angrily demanded.

"Stop acting infantile, reckless, and making irrational decisions so that TARDIS doesn't feel like you're running headlong into your own demise. Or find yourself another companion who can keep you from doing that. Believe it or not, the TARDIS is partial of you. She wants you alive, not dead."

The alarm got louder. He stormed out, leaving Sara with her book. The TARDIS hologram appeared in the library.

"Thank you," TARDIS told Sara.

"For what?"

"For saying all of that. He wouldn't have listened to me if I had tried to tell him that."

"Aye, but did he listen to me or just act like he had?"

"We will see." The hologram looked at the door and sighed. "There he goes again. Off to right some wrong he has no business dealing with. He desperately needs his own companion."

"His own? Is that to say I'm yours?"

TARDIS smiled at Sara. "That's to say you are my closest friend, next to him."

Sara smiled at her book. "He'll come around. I know you'd like for him to remember everything, but he can't. There had to have been a reason for why Clara did it, and we have to believe it was for the good of more than just him. Aye?"

TARDIS nodded.

"Don't worry, Tara. He'll find another companion, things will smooth out again, and you'll be back to running across time and space to watch him be the hero he once was. He'll get back to that. I know he will. He's The Doctor."

TARDIS sat down in a nearby chair. "I'm just not so sure this time."

Sara sat up and reached out her hand. The hologram laid her hand in Sara's – as best as a hologram could. Sara smiled.

"I am. It feels like I've been watching you and him many lifetimes, and I believe that you will get him there all in good time. And while you're doing that, I will be here for you for as long as it takes. Friends are funny that way."

TARDIS smiled and nodded. Then her smile faded as her fear that nothing would be the same came back.

-#-

 **To Be Continued….**

Maybe

Probably


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Everything Sara tried to look at swirled and dipped and spun into psychedelic colors. There was a heavy mist all around her that concealed things and made it impossible to focus on anything. She couldn't tell up from down or left or right or if she was moving at all. Her head felt swollen to an impossible size and her tongue felt like it filled her mouth. She felt like she was on fire and freezing at the same time.

"Sara," she heard TARDIS call, "answer me. Please, answer me."

The thought that she should answer TARDIS entered her mind and passed in a second. She went back to trying to figure out where she was, who she was, and what she was doing. Those answers were nowhere close to being found, so she kept walking – or believing she was walking.

#

The TARDIS began to materialize on a beach, causing the aliens that were enjoying the sunny day or gathered in a crowd nearby to quickly scatter. At the center of the crowd Sara lay on the sand. She was drenched in sweat, shivering, and barely conscious. The second the TARDIS materialized the door flew open and The Doctor rushed out. The hologram of TARDIS appeared next to Sara, wringing her hands with worry.

"What happened, exactly?" The Doctor asked TARDIS. He scanned Sara with his sonic screwdriver.

"I don't know. We had been here for five days while I waited for you to call me back, and she was feeling fine when we got here. Yesterday she said she was nauseous, had a slight fever. She thought it was just because she'd been outside all day and hadn't eaten much."

The Doctor looked at the screwdriver.

"This morning she said she was tired and stiff, but otherwise felt fine, TARDIS continued. "My sensors detected she had a slight fever, and her heart rate was slightly higher than normal, but she insisted she felt fine. She went out to the beach and twenty minutes later she was feeling sick, and dizzy. I detected her fever and heart rate had increased significantly and told her to come back inside. She collapsed right here, and that's when I came for you."

"She has the Westevian virus."

"What? No. She's human. She can't have that."

"Well she has it." He reached down and pushed wet hair back from Sara's face. He scanned her forehead with the sonic screwdriver again. "Her brain has begun to swell." The Doctor picked Sara up and went back inside the TARDIS. "We don't have much time."

TARDIS appeared inside with him. "That's… The Westevian virus doesn't have a cure, Doctor." TARDIS began to cry. "Is she supposed to die now? Do you know? Have you seen it? Is this the—"

"There is a cure for non-Westevians. Take us to 1847 London, Madame Vastra's." The Doctor laid Sara on the floor and scanned her again.

"Doctor, the virus is incurable. It—"

He looked up at her. "I updated the information some time ago. You should find that. And I need Silurian secretion to create it."

TARDIS grew still for a few seconds. "This cure is untested. You don't even know if this will cure her, Doctor!"

He smiled. "We're about to test it."

"Not on Sara!"

He stood, leaning in close to the hologram. "TARDIS, we either try this and hope it works or we try nothing and we know she'll die, today, before her time. What would you have me do?"

TARDIS wrung her hands. The controls lit up and knobs whirred on their own. She looked him in the eye when the door opened.

"Doctor," TARDIS told him, "please save my friend. Please make this work."

"That is the plan, my dear TARDIS." He picked Sara up and hurried out of the TARDIS.

Madame Vastra checked Sara's temperature and then turned. Jenny, Strax, The Doctor, and TARDIS waited by the door, waiting for her prognosis.

"We need to get her fever down as quickly as we can," Vastra told them. "Strax, draw a cold bath."

He hurried off to obey.

"Her fever is dangerously high," Madame Vastra told the remaining three. "Her kidneys may fail before the anti-viral can make an impact, and half of her left lung has already become paralyzed. For the next four to five days, she must be monitored, so—"

"I can stay with her," Jenny said at the same time The Doctor and TARDIS said, "I'll stay with her."

Vastra smiled. "TARDIS, you will be of no help to her if she goes into cardiac arrest and you must take The Doctor and I to Silurian to get proper medical supplies and another three doses of the anti-virus. Jenny will stay with her while we're gone."

"If she makes it through these four or five days, will she live?" TARDIS asked.

"She is strong and healthy, the likelihood is favorable; however, please do not get your hopes up yet, TARDIS. Sara is very, very sick."

TARDIS nodded. Jenny offered TARDIS a sympathetic smile.

"Shall we?" Vastra asked The Doctor.

"I'll be right there."

Madame Vastra walked out of the room. "Jenny, I need you to do a few things on the hour."

Jenny followed her, listening to the detailed list.

The Doctor looked back and stared at TARDIS. She wiped tears away and then held his stare.

"She is the only thing I have ever seen you cry about," he said.

She glowered at him. "She's my friend. I care about her. And I have cried for you many times. When I lost you, when you've done something brash and stupid…"

He smiled. "That's good to know, but TARDIS, going to Silurian is going to a long journey, and I suspect we may have to make several more stops to get everything Vastra needs. I need you to make sure we have enough reserve power for this."

She nodded, then disappeared. He walked over to the bed, staring at the girl. The Doctor leaned over so his face was close to Sara's.

"Can you hear me Sara?" he asked.

She didn't answer.

He smiled. "Of course you can. You're still in there. In that lonely dark place. You aren't alone, Sara. We won't leave you alone and out there for very long. So keep moving, keep heading toward home. You can see it, can't you? Up there on the horizon? I know it seems far away, but it's not so far. You keep moving toward it, and when you get there, we'll be waiting. TARDIS, me…" His brow dipped. "And someone else. Someone I can't seem to remember, just her name. Clara. She'll be there too." He reached down and stroked her damp hair back. "Sara, plain and tall. You are a fighter, the best kind, too. You keep that fight well hidden, but no one can beat you. Not even me." He gently pressed a hand against her sweaty forehead. "Do not stop moving, Sara, plain and tall, no matter how tired and long it feels. TARDIS need you, and it is not your time to die."

He stood up and left. In the hall, he caught Jenny's arm as he passed her. "If anything happens, anything at all—"

"I'll call."

"No. Do not call. Tell us when we return. TARDIS will not take losing Sara well and I'm afraid of how she'll react if we're traveling."

Jenny nodded.

The Doctor walked away.

In the TARDIS, he found Madame Vastra reading something on a monitor. She looked away to watch him. For several minutes the two watched each other. She smiled.

"I have never met this girl before, but I do not get the sense she's a companion of yours."

"She isn't. She is one of TARDIS' friends." He considered that statement. "Actually, I think she's the only friend TARDIS has."

"Is she?" Madame Vastra asked with a hint that she knew he wasn't entirely honest.

"Yes. She is."

"Hm."

"What?"

She smiled at him. "You aren't known to rescue someone you don't care for."

"I care about TARDIS. She cares about Sara. Therefore, I must save her."

"I see."

He scowled at Madame Vastra. She smiled back.

"At any rate, one can never have enough friends."

"At any rate," he replied, and then sent them traveling through time to Silurian.

The Doctor wasn't really reading the book in his hands as much as he was staring at the words. His mind had drifted off to solve some mystery it had bene work on for several lifetimes, and would clearly be working on for much longer at the rate his thoughts were moving.

"Where am I?" Sara whispered.

He lowered his book. The room had been transformed into a hospital room with all the equipment Vastra had brought back. The high-tech equipment looked very out of place among the early Victorian furnishings and gas lights. Since her first shot of the anti-viral, Sara had been slowly improving, but the dim light made her look just as sickly as the first day they'd arrived.

He got up, sat his book on a table, and walked over to the bed. He sat down next to her.

"You are in London, in the home of Vastra, a friend of mine."

"When am I?"

"1832."

She closed her eyes. Thinking she'd fallen asleep he stood to go back to his chair.

"Why am I sick?"

He sat back down. "You contracted the Westevian virus while you were on Westevia."

"H-How? I thought it was… safe."

"Ah, Sara, you never listen to me, do you? Nothing is ever really safe, just a bit safer than something else like it. Being human you shouldn't have contracted the virus, that's true, but viruses are strange things. They mutate and alter themselves to survive. A lot like humans, I'd say."

"That's mean."

He smiled, even if her eyes weren't open to see it. "The truth sometimes is mean."

"Am I going to die?"

"No, not this time."

She looked up at him. "Not this time?"

"Someday you are going to die, but not this time. You're recovering now."

"I'll die from this another time?"

He shook his head. "No. You die from—"

"I don't want to know."

"—old age."

She stared at him for a long moment and then closed her eyes. "Where is Tara?"

"She had to recharge. We had to travel back and forth across some long expanses of time just to keep you from an untimely death. She's exhausted."

"I want to see her when she wakes up."

"I'll tell her, but right now you both need to rest."

Sara slid her hand across the bed and looped her small finger around his. He hesitated, not sure what to make of the gesture. Then he tightened his finger around hers.

"Thank you," she whispered, "for coming for me, Doctor."

"I couldn't let you die before your time. TARDIS would never have forgiven me."

She smiled just slightly. "Aye."

He didn't respond, because he wasn't ready to admit the truth to her or anyone else.

Sara was insufferable! She fought with him, argued nearly every point he brought up, ignored him when his temper got the better of him, and he had lost count of how many times she walked out in the middle of a conversation. She positively annoyed him and there were times he believed she relished in that.

But… In his hidden thoughts, kept only for himself, the truth was he was insanely jealous of the friendship she had with TARDIS. Her humor was contagious, although he made sure no one ever knew he thought that of her. She had an insatiable curiosity and adventurous spirit, but she was cautious, and she had never become enamored by the lifestyle of a Time Lord. In fact, after convincing her to join him three times outside the TARDIS, he decided he really did hate having her with him on adventures for one simple fact. All three times he had been looking for the adventure he enjoyed – attract trouble, as TARDIS now called it – but each time she had gone with him, trouble never showed up. He had come to believe she had some innate ability to repel trouble, and while he equally hated and was perplexed by that, he knew it was an anomaly he may spend lifetimes trying to understand.

She was the complete opposite of every companion he'd ever had. She didn't act like she was fond of him, but he was convinced that some part of her must be. Why else, despite their volatile relationship and her extreme caution, would she have helped him when TARDIS had asked her to?

He didn't like her, but only to himself would he admit he was slightly fond of her. That was what had actually motivated him to rush to her rescue her. Plus, some time ago he'd gone ahead in her life and knew how she died. So, fate be damned if it thought for one moment that The Doctor would not save Sara O'Dwyer from an unscheduled death!

He found himself wondering how would he react on the day she was destined to die. Would he let nature take its course like he should? Or would he intervene and keep it from ever happening? Why did he get this vague feeling he'd done that before, for someone else? Something told him that had not ended well, and he was left with an ominous feeling and fear. But The Doctor was never afraid, so what could have happened to make him feel fear from this elusive memory?

The Doctor frowned. He decided not to think any more on this.

The Doctor let go of her finger and returned to his chair and book.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Sara looked up when the door of her room opened. Sara had stayed in a handful of the thousands of bedrooms the TARDIS offered, but she liked this one. She could hear the hum of Tara's machinery through the wall, and it had the same effect as a radiator heater running next to her bed when she slept.

The Doctor walked in. He held his hands behind his back and offered a suspicious grin. She lowered her book as he approached the chaise lounge she reclined on.

"I do not like this expression you have." She waved her hand in a circle at his face.

He smiled some more. "Why is that, my dear?"

"Or that you're calling me 'my dear.' That's even more unnerving. If you have come to ask me to go venturing with you—"

"No. No, no. I have to attend to… Another matter." He sobered for a moment as his smile faded. "An unfortunate matter."

"Who are you saving?"

"I will be saving no one." Pain came over his face, but when he smiled again, it was gone. "I've made something for you."

"Did you?"

He produced a silver locket on a silver chain, holding it up for her to see. In the center of the locket was a dark blue gem. Sara stared at it for a moment.

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Why would you make me something? We're not friends."

He smiled again, laying the locket in her book and draping the chain over the top, like a ribbon for a bookmark. He stepped back.

"The locket extends the projection of the TARDIS Graphic Interface by nearly two kilometers, depending on the terrain and mineral deposits, of course. The audio too."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you make this for me?"

"She asked me to. She wanted to take you to see the Woodland Beings, but you must tread carefully while there so as not to harm them."

"What are the Woodland Beings?"

"A benevolent race, I assure you. I call them Woodland Beings because I don't know what they call themselves." He chuckled, but it died off when she didn't share it with him. "The creatures haven't spoken since I first arrived. Well, not audibly. They can communicate on a minimalist level, so I know when they approve or disapprove of something, but until can decipher their language. It can be very confusing calling out 'hey you' and having an entire forest react. At any rate, the Woodland Beings trust us, so they'll trust you. And it will be just the two of you on the planet. Nothing else lives there except for a few insects I brought to help with pollination."

"Why does it feel like you're sending us away?"

"I'm not. She asked for something to let her go further with you, so I made it. Simple as that." He walked out of the room.

Sara picked up the locket, running her finger over the engraved design and stone.

"Is this locket what he says it is, Tara?" Sara asked.

She appeared next to the chaise lounge. "Yes. It is."

"Why would he make this for us?"

"He is my friend, and I asked him for it. Please don't be hard on him about this. He didn't even question me when I asked for this, and he always questions me."

"That doesn't make you suspicious? Even a little?"

"No. I don't know what he's off to do, but he didn't want us around while he was doing whatever it is. I told him I would only agree if he would help me extend my range so we could have a long outing until he called me back."

"I'm suspicious." Sara looked at the necklace. "Did he really make this himself? The locket?"

"No. He had it. It used to belong to…"

Sara looked up at Tara. She was staring at the floor.

"Belong to who?"

"Someone he cared for. It's just been sitting in a box all this time. He added the hologram lens, that blue gem-like middle, and made the components that went inside."

"Just as long as he didn't steal it."

Tara smiled. "Rest assured. He did not. I'll let you know when we're at our destination." Tara disappeared.

Sara looked at the necklace for a few more minutes, and then put it on. She resumed reading her book.

#

Sara watched the twig twirling between her fingers, trying to keep her mind off the pain in her ankle. It wasn't working as well as she'd hoped. She dropped her hand onto her lap and laid her head against the tree she was propped up against. The Woodland Being towered over her. The smallest branch was twice as big as she was and the smallest leaf was as large as her head. The TARDIS told her that these sentient trees had come here from another planet where humans were going to harvest them.

Sara closed her eyes when she shifted, moving her swollen ankle. She mentally berated herself again for not watching where she was going and falling down the hill, consequently sprang her ankle. It was too bad of a sprang to make it back to the TARDIS and Tara couldn't move closer to Sara without causing damage to any of the trees. She swore she'd back fast and went to get The Doctor to help Sara back to her.

Sara opened her eyes, turning her head to look at the patch of purple sky through the trees. The daylight was fading out there, and even if Tara swore there weren't any animals here, she really didn't like the idea of spending a night alone on an alien planet.

Her heart leaped into her throat when a twig snapped, and she looked toward the sound. A few moments of silence followed before she could hear footsteps. Sara almost called out to the person but stopped. If it were The Doctor, he'd be calling for her, wouldn't he? Sara closed her lips, shrinking down like a rabbit trying to hide.

There was a loud snap followed by a female voice demanding, "Get off. Get away before I turn you into fire kindling!"

Through the brush, a woman appeared. She had a mass of curly black hair, dark eyes, and a long-sleeved dark gown. She carried an umbrella in her hands. The woman smiled at Sara, kindness in her smile. Sara felt trapped by something wicked.

"Oh! Hello. I didn't expect to find anyone else on this planet."

Sara didn't respond.

She cupped her hand next to her mouth, whispering, "This is the part you say hello back and tell me your name."

Sara did neither.

The woman put her fists on her hips. "Not the sociable type, I take it."

No response.

"Is there a reason you're just sitting here in the forest?"

Sara watched the trees behind the woman turn, and it caught her off breath. The woman glanced back at them.

"Stay back, or I will be keeping myself warm with all your bits and pieces," she warned the trees.

They didn't move. She turned her attention back to Sara.

"Why are you on this planet all alone?"

"Who said I was alone?" Sara hissed.

"There's no need to take that tone with me! I just assumed that you weren't sitting here under this tree with that ankle—" The woman jabbed Sara's sprang ankle with the end of her umbrella, making Sara cry out and pull her leg back.

"What do you want?" Sara asked.

The woman smiled that fake grin again. "To help."

"The hell you do."

"What else would I be here for?"

"Not to help me, except into a grave, maybe."

The woman took a step closer. "I only want to help, dearie."

"I don't want your help. Get away from me!"

"But there isn't anyone else here to help you, Sara."

"Who's Sara?"

"Why, you are, _Sara O'Dwyer_."

Sara stared at her without confirming or denying the truth. The woman smiled again, and it was even colder.

"So, let's get you up and be on our way."

"I am not going anywhere with you… Whoever you are."

"Oh. I'm Missy. And you are going with me." She jabbed Sara's, making her scream and pull back against the tree.

A tree slapped a branch at Missy, hitting her in the chest. She flew back into the brush.

"Thank you," Sara whispered to the tree. "Thank you."

Missy got up and aimed the end of her umbrella at the tree.

"Leave them alone!" Tara said as she materialized between Missy, and Sara and the tree.

Missy smiled.

"And who are you?"

"I am TARDIS, Missy. Leave them alone."

"Oh… You are TARDIS, are you?" Missy laughed. "You really expect me to believe that."

"I do. Leave."

"If you're TARDIS, then you aren't real." Missy snapped up her umbrella, and it shot at Tara. The blast passed through her and hit another tree. There was a strange, high pitched ring in the air that lasted only a few minutes. It hurt both Sara and Missy's ears, making both women cringe.

Missy stood up, staring at Tara. She was still standing between them. Missy laughed.

"You are the Graphic Interface of his TARDIS, aren't you? Then that means you can't touch me." Missy started toward Sara.

"Are you sure about that?" Tara asked.

"You're a hologram!" Missy told her, not stopping.

"I am, I can speak with your TARDIS, and if you _ever_ want to leave this planet, you will leave Sara alone."

"I am taking his companion, and you can't stop me."

"She isn't The Doctor's companion!" Tara yelled at the same time Sara screamed, "I am _not_ The Doctor's damn companion!"

Missy stopped, looking between the two. "What?"

"She is my friend," Tara told her. "She and The Doctor don't even like each other. He doesn't care what happens to her, but I do. And I promise you, Missy, if you harm her, I will strand you here and leave you to die."

"I regenerate."

"You can regenerate for eternity, but you will _never_ leave this planet if you harm my friend."

"My TARDIS would never listen to you."

"Are you certain of that?" another voice asked.

Behind her, a man appeared. Missy turned.

"Who are you?"

"I am the TARDIS that you belong to."

Missy looked between the two TARDIS holograms. "This is insane."

"I had the same thought that three regenerations ago," The Doctor said as he came around the tree. "But it doesn't make it untrue, Missy."

She glared at him. "This is a trick."

He shook his head. "This is not a trick. They are sentient. We belong to them. They merely take us where we like when we ask, which is why they don't always take us where we want when we ask."

"I always end up where I want."

"Eventually," her TARDIS added.

"Shut up, you!" Missy bit back. "I suppose you have friends like this." Missy pointed back at Sara.

"If I did, I'd never tell you. You'd kill them."

That only made her angrier. She looked from The Doctor to Sara to Tara. "If I find her alone again…" Missy smiled. She walked back into the woods, leaving them. Her TARDIS hologram stood for a few minutes.

"Thank you for helping," Tara told him.

He smiled. "Anything to make her angry." He disappeared.

"Let's get you back to the TARDIS," The Doctor said, turning to Sara.

"Who was that?"

"Someone you don't want to meet again."

He helped her up and pulled her arm around his shoulder.

"She's a bad woman, isn't she?"

"Used to be a man, and was bad then too. So… Yes."

"Is she always so angry?"

He looked at Sara, staring at her face. "Angry?"

"She's a very angry, bitter woman. Was she always like that? Even as a man?"

"I don't know. Enough about that. You need ice on that. Let's go."

They started moving slowly in the direction of the TARDIS.

"Why'd she think I was your companion?"

"Who knows."

"How did she find me?"

He stopped walking. "Do you always have to ask so many questions?"

"Maybe if you gave me whole answers instead of nibbles, I wouldn't _have_ to ask so many questions, Doctor."

He smiled. "I really don't like you."

"I don't like you either. Let's go before it's dark."

They started moving again.

"You know it never actually gets dark here. The planet spins too fast."

"Why should I care?"

Their voices faded. Missy came out from behind a tree, watching them. She jumped when a male voice asked, "Leave her alone, Missy."

She turned to the hologram. "I am turning you off."

"You can disable the hologram, but you can't turn me off."

"Can't I?"

"Not if you ever want to go anywhere. I'm part of everything that makes the TARDIS work."

She glared at him. "You would have stranded me here if I touched that human?"

"She is a friend of the TARDIS – of all TARDIS." He leaned toward her. "If you are a smart Time Lord, you will never find out what happens when a friend of the TARDIS is harmed or killed." He flickered and disappeared.

She turned, watching the three again. "Well… This was educational." Missy walked back to her TARDIS, occasionally getting slapped by small branches from the trees.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sara pulled firmly back on the reins, bring the yearling back under her control and lining him up for the next jump. They were only foot high trainer jumps, but when he was within range, he dodged to the left to avoid the jump. She quickly found her balance, pulled him around in a circle, and lined up for the jump again. It took three more tries before he gave up the fight and clumsily leapt over the jump, plunking down hard on all four feet on the opposite side. The landing jarred her ribs and she grimaced. She guided him toward the next jump. He didn't refuse this one and cleared it with a touch more grace.

She guided him through the next four jumps, catching sight of two people standing at the gate out of the corner of her eye. She didn't allow her attention to stray as she guided the horse to the end of the course. At the end, she brought him into a trot and began to circle the arena. She glanced at the two men standing at the gate as she passed. One was owner, Ben Jackson, a tall bald African American, and the other was…

She snapped her head around to look back, surprised by who it was.

The Doctor?

He was wearing his sunglasses, despite how dark the day was. She didn't stop until she'd made three circles and reined the yearling to a stop at the gate.

"He's finally starting to look good, Sara," the owner told her with a smile.

Ben opened the gate for her, but she held the yearling back. Unhappy with not being allowed to do what he wanted – exit the arena at a bolt – he pranced in place and gnawed angrily on the bit in his mouth.

"Aye, Mr. Jackson," she answered, returning the smile. "But he still has it in his head that jumping isn't his thing. You may have to consider he isn't going to make a jumper, sir. His heart is really in herding."

"That's not the kind of horses we raise. Stop pushing it."

She shrugged a shoulder. "Aye, sir."

"Doctor…" the man paused, glancing at The Doctor. "I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't give it. Call me Doctor Who."

"Right." Ben hesitated. "He said he's a friend of yours?" He looked up at Sara.

"He's an acquaintance. It's good to see you, Doctor."

He only smiled. That was not his usual smug or ornery smile. Something was wrong.

"Well, keep at it, Sara. If anyone can bring this one around, it's you." The owner patted the yearlings neck, startling the horse. It tried to bolt but Sara gently guided it back to prancing in place. She reached out and petted the horse's neck, talking softly to him.

Ben walked toward the main house.

The Doctor turned his head some, as if he were listening to some far-off sound. "The owner is a nice man. Do you go into his house?"

"What?"

"Do you go into Ben Jackson's house?"

"No. I've never been in their house, just the garage. Why do you ask?"

"It's probably best if you never do. Remember that, will you, Sara? Remember The to stay out of Ben Jackson's house."

"Let me guess. There is an infestation of swinger aliens and you believe my employer and his family are among them. Despite them being devote Catholics, Republicans, and working with equal rights groups."

"You'd be surprised how many malevolent aliens hide behind façades like that. But no, that is not why I'm here."

"If you're here, something is happening. The Doctor doesn't pay a visit to Earth for the scenery." Sara sat up, gathering her reins.

"I am today."

"That sounds rightfully boring – for you."

He smiled. There it was again. A smile that didn't look right on his face. Sara suddenly realized he was sad. Very, very sad.

She dismounted and pulled the reins over the gelding's head before leading him out of the arena. The wind kicked up and the dark sky began spitting snowflakes. She started walking toward the barn, not hiding her suspicion as she watched The Doctor walk beside her. But he didn't seem to notice her suspicion.

"You don't approve of Ben's decision about this horse," The Doctor said. He followed beside her.

She shook her head. "Aye. This young man's heart isn't in jumping. He wants to chase things." She petted the horse's damp neck and received a nuzzle in return. She smiled at him.

"What's its name?"

"What I call him or what the stupid name on his papers is?"

"What do you call him?"

"JJ."

"You call a horse JJ?"

"Yes. His registered name is James' Jewels. I think that's even more stupid than JJ."

"I would agree."

The Doctor tripped on a rock and she grabbed his arm to keep him from falling. He quickly pulled away.

"Why are ya here?" she asked.

"I'm on an outing."

She laughed. "Now tell me the truth."

He nodded. Quietly he told her, "You can read me well. You should be my companion, Sara."

She wondered why it sounded like he felt longing when he said that, but decided to not ask.

"We have had this conversation more times than I can count, Doctor. Why haven't you found you a companion yet? What's taking so long _this_ time?"

"I found one."

"Oh?" Sara hesitated. "I assume it's a woman. Is she here today?"

"She is a young lady, yes, and no, she did not accompany me today."

"What's her name?"

"Yes. Bill."

"Her name is _Bill_?" Sara smiled, thinking the name was a joke.

"You have a horse named JJ. Originality comes in many forms."

"I guess so. Very much, in fact. If she's not here, does that mean you don't enjoy her companionship?"

"I do enjoy it. She's hungry for knowledge and loves the adventure. It's the most fun I've had in a while." He paused before quietly adding. "It was."

Sara stopped. When he kept walking she didn't say anything. The Doctor stopped suddenly and turned a little, but turned his head more, as if he were listening for her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Sara walked up to him and slid her arm around his. She walked arm-in arm with him, holding tight when he tried to pull away.

"There's a mare here called Dempsey Rose – Rose for short. She is the most ornery mare I've ever met but I love her anyway. And she throws good foals. Sound and strong ones. I've arranged to buy her for pennies when she's too old to breed because the old girl is blind. Can't see a thing. And she doesn't let just anyone near her, or on her, because, well, when you're blind, you need trust. You need people who won't let you run into a closed door or stumble over a rock. Which you're about to do right now, Doctor, if you don't trust me to lead ya."

He moved toward her, avoiding the rock he had been headed for.

The two walked in silence. Inside the barn, she walked him to a chair near to a set of cross ties.

"You can sit here while I unsaddle and brush JJ," she told him. "It's on your right."

He put his hand out and found the chair, then lowered himself in. She snapped the cross tie onto the gelding's bridle and grabbed his halter. She pulled the bridle off and pulled on the halter, then scratched his face where the bridle had sat on his head. JJ leaned into the scratching, nudging her each time she tried to stop. She smiled at his attempts to keep the scratching going. She laid her hands on his cheeks and kissed his forehead. He pressed his head against her shoulder, soaking up the affection.

"I can't see much with my glasses, just outlines, but I can see he cares for you. And you care for him."

"I do. He's been a handful since he was born. Tried to die twice, but I wouldn't let him give up like that. Does Tara know you're blind?"

"No." He shook his head. "I haven't told anyone. Not Bill or Nardole or… Anyone."

"Who's Nardole?"

"Ah. That's right. I haven't introduced you two yet. He's… well… Maybe introducing you might not be such a good thing. He's as stubborn as you and doesn't always rub people, or anyone else, the right way."

"Ah. You like the bloke."

"I wouldn't say like, but I do appreciate his point of view. He keeps me in line."

"Keeps _ya_ in line?" She laughed. "If I'd known that were a job opening, I would have applied for it!"

He smiled again but there was still no joy in it. Sara finished unsaddling JJ and brushing him out. She led him into his stall and filled his water bucket. JJ stopped her from leaving by playfully nipping at her shirt. She gave him a playful pinch on the nose and he nibbled at her fingers. She laughed, playfully pinching his lips each time he caught her fingers. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and he pulled his head down against her back in a 'horse hug.' Sara stepped back and patted his neck and giving his cheek a kiss.

She turned, finding The Doctor standing at the open stall door. She stepped out and closed the bottom door. JJ dropped his head over the door and sniffed The Doctor's shoulder, then nibbled at his coat.

He smiled, holding out a hand. JJ nibbled at his fingers.

"Very gently pinch his lips. It's his game," Sara told him.

The Doctor did and JJ played with him for several minutes before turning and trotting around his stall a couple times. She slid her arm into The Doctor's and guided him away.

"That's it. He's done."

"I see why you like JJ. He has a personality. I haven't met many horses with a personality."

"Then you haven't met many horses."

"I've met thousands in my thousands of years alive and—"

"You haven't really met them if you haven't met many with a personality. They all have personalities, but most people, and apparently, Time Lords, don't see it because they don't take the time to listen."

They left the barn and walked to the steps that led to her apartment over the barn.

"We're going up stairs. There's a dozen of them."

"Where are you leading me?" he asked.

"My apartment for some tea and biscuits."

"I didn't plan on staying long."

"Oh. How long did you plan on staying, then?"

He didn't answer.

"I get this feeling, Doctor, that you are here for a reason, and you aren't leaving until you've dealt with that. You say it's not because you're here to save humanity or Earth, so… What is it, then?" She opened the door, leading him to a chair next to a Formica-top table. "Why did you come here? What do you want?"

He didn't answer. She sighed softly and gave his shoulder a pat.

"Alright. Have your silence, Doctor."

Sara moved around the kitchen, setting the kettle on the stove and taking out plates, biscuits, and a jar of homemade marmalade. She sat everything on the table.

"Butter?"

"No. I'm fine. Really."

"You'd pass up tea?"

He smiled. Finally, there was some joy there. "I never pass up a good cup of tea. Do you make a good cup of afternoon tea, Sara, tall and so very plain?"

She laughed at his old joke. "You haven't called me that in a while, and I'll let you be the judge if I make a good afternoon tea."

They fell silent while she prepared cups of afternoon tea. She placed his next to his plate with a biscuit, and sat down with her own across from him. Sara hungrily devoured two before settling back in her chair with a content sigh.

"Haven't eaten since dawn. I was starving."

He reached out and touched the biscuit, then put his hand to the side of the plate.

"If you wish, I can fix it for you."

He shook his head and picked up the cup instead, sipping it. He smiled.

"You do make a good cup of afternoon tea," he told her.

"My mum would roll in her grave if I didn't."

He smiled, but with the sadness had returned. She reached out and laid her hand on his.

"Talk to me. Why are ya here? What do ya need? I get the sense you want my help but I don't know what for."

"I don't need anything. I just came because…" He sat his cup down and pulled his hand away from her.

"Talk to me," Sara pressed. "I can't help if you won't tell me what is wrong."

He gave a slight head shake. "Too much has happened and been lost. I feel there are even things I don't know I've lost, but I can _feel_ they've been lost. I watched my wife die and I miss her."

"You were married?"

"Yes. Then there's Missy. Do you remember Missy?"

"How could I forget," Sara said with a roll of her eyes. "She was an unpleasant breath of air."

"I was sent to execute her for all the things she'd done."

"Oh." Sara sat back in her chair. "I'm sorry to hear—"

"I didn't. I couldn't. I put her to sleep and locked her in a vault. I have to watch it for a thousand years."

"Oh… That's a long time to watch a prisoner in a vault, indeed."

He nodded. "I want to believe she can change."

Sara didn't comment.

"Couldn't she change?" he asked.

Sara shrugged, and then remembered he couldn't see her. She cupped her hands around her tea cup. "If you were asking me that question of a human I'd say it depends. Some people were born evil or have let their soul become evil, and nothing will ever change them. They will die that way. Some people were born good, or still have good in their soul, and they can change. But she's a Time Lord and I can only guess from what I know of you, and her. So far, Time Lords seem rather… Flitty, at best. Had I first met this version of who you are now, I would have said _you_ were evil, without a lick of good in ya. But I've since come to understand that living thousands of years you've seen tragedy I doubt I could ever understand, and you've seen it repeatedly. You've done things you didn't want to do and been forced to lose who you are to make sacrifices you didn't want to make. All that's made you jaded, not evil, and it's torn at your mind. So maybe, that's what's wrong with Missy. You seemed surprised when I said she was a very angry woman, but that's what I saw. A dangerous woman so angry because her mind doesn't know any other way to process what she sees or feels."

"So, you think it's all in a Time Lord's mind to be evil?"

"I don't know."

"No. We aren't human. We are physically different than you. We can handle it. I just don't know if there's any good left in her."

"Doctor, you aren't a physician, nor are ya a Time Lord psychiatrist. I'm not really sure what sort of a doctor you even are, but I know it's neither of those. So how can you be so sure that your mind does not have a limit just like any other creature?"

He sipped his tea. "This is really good afternoon tea."

She smiled. "Thank ye. I guess that means we're changing the subject?"

"This is why I came here."

"For the tea?"

"Maybe. But more for this conversation. I needed this… I needed to find a pivot point."

"Pivot point? I thought it was a ground point that worked best."

"Not for a Time Lord."

She laughed. "Of course not. How foolish of me."

He slid the plate with the biscuit toward her. "I'd like that biscuit now, if you wouldn't mind."

She prepared it for him and sat it back in front of him. The two ate their biscuits and drank their tea in silence.

"I need to go back now," he said, standing after the last bit of tea had been drunk. "I left while everyone was sleeping and I'm not supposed to leave the vault unattended."

"I'll walk you back to Tara."

"Promise not to tell her about…" He pointed at his eyes. "I'll tell her on the way back."

"Okay." Sara put her coat back on and slid her arm around his. Sara talked about the past and The Doctor talked about the future as they strolled leisurely back to the TARDIS.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Tara and Sara sat on the mezzanine above the main console, staring at a holographic chess board between them. Sara moved her last rook and tapped the holographic clock. Tara studied the board and then took Sara's rook, tapping the clock.

Below them, something on the console began to beep. Sara glanced in the direction of the beeping.

"What's that?"

"Nothing. Your move."

Sara tried to focus on the board, but the beeping quickly became aggravating. "It doesn't sound like nothing."

"It isn't anything."

Something banged against the door. Sara looked at Tara. Her eyes moved to meet Sara's. There was another bang on the door.

" _That_ doesn't sound like nothing," Sara told her friend.

"The beeping is telling me there is a life form in the area."

"Is that life form the one hitting the door?"

"No. The life form I'm detecting is not the one hitting on the door. It is much further away and quite large, actually."

"That isn't a comforting, Tara."

Tara offered a devilish smile.

Sara laughed. "You are an ornery old maid!"

The banging started up again.

"Then what is banging on the door?"

Tara looked at the board. "Cybermen."

"What the bloody hell are Cybermen?"

"Cybernetically augmented humanoids."

The banging resumed again. Sara shot the door a nervous glance.

"Can they get in?"

"They cannot."

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

"How can you be sure?"

"I have precautions in place to keep them from hacking my systems."

"Precautions? And what is hacking?"

"Hacking is forcibly gaining access to my systems without my consent. The precautions are, well… I'll call them walls. Someday you'll call them firewalls."

"I will? You're sure of this?"

"Well, perhaps not you, but your grandchildren will."

"Oh. So, I'll have children and grandchildren?"

"Yes. You will also have—"

"Ah-ah! That's enough about my future. I don't want to know _that_ much about it."

"Why is that, exactly?" Tara looked up at her. "Ever since we've met, you've stopped me from telling you anything about your future, even if it could make your life easier."

"I like surprises."

The banging on the door continued, but the two had grown accustomed to it by now.

Tara smiled. "But you can't possibly think that is preferable."

"I do. I want to believe I have free will and that I can make any choice I want."

"You would have more free will if you knew how your choices would impact your future. Without knowing that, you don't have true free will."

"That's hardly a sound argument. If by making choices without knowing how the choices change my future, then that is still free will."

"That is not free will. To have true free will—"

The door flew open and The Doctor and Nardole ran in, slamming the door behind them. Nardole quickly locked it and both men let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close," The Doctor said.

"Closer than I cared for, thank you," Nardole tersely snapped. "Why are we even here?"

"I had to fix a tinsy part of history." The Doctor walked over to the console in the center and began flicking switches. He glanced up at the two, away, and then turned.

"Hello, ladies," he said to both.

Sara smiled.

Nardole walked up next to him, staring at the two. "Who are you two?"

Tara looked at him, then at The Doctor. "You've never told him about me or Sara?"

"Wasn't important." He turned back to the controls.

"It's important now, don't you think?"

He motioned at each during the introduction. "Nardole, Sara, Sara, Nardole."

Tara and Sara laughed.

"And who is she?" Nardole pointed at Tara.

"The TARDIS graphical interface. We call her Tara."

"Why haven't I ever seen you before?" he demanded of Tara.

"We've never had a situation that I needed to interact with you."

"And you?" Nardole walked toward the two, shaking a finger at Sara. "How did you get in here? The door is set to friends only."

For a moment, no one spoke, and the realization hit him suddenly. "Sara is your friend?" Nardole turned to The Doctor.

"We're friendly, not friends."

Nardole looked up at her again. "Then how did you get in here?"

"I'm her friend." Sara waved a finger at Tara, then around the space.

Something began banging against the door again.

"We're taking this conversation on the road," The Doctor said, fiddling again with the controls.

"You're friends with the TARDIS?" Nardole asked Sara.

"Yes."

"How? She's a machine?"

"I am a sentient being, the same as you," Tara corrected him. "I can make friends."

"All right. How many friends do you have then?"

"Human or otherwise?"

His brow dipped. " _In total_."

"Dozens."

"Dozens?" Sara asked Tara.

"He asked in total."

"You've never mentioned that to me. I find it surprising since you aren't inclined to trust easily."

"To be fair, nearly all of them are other TARDIS," Tara explained. "You and an Alpha Centurion are my only non-TARDIS friends."

"Oh! That's, uhm… I forget his name."

Tara laughed. "You can't pronounce his name. You keep calling him Bob."

"He looks like a Bob."

"He does look like a Bob," The Doctor agreed.

Sara and Tara chuckled.

"Hold on!" Nardole demanded.

The two looked back at him.

"First off, why does it sound like there are dozens of TARDIS out there?" He made a general wave toward the doors to indicate 'out there.' "And second, why are you friends with a human _or_ an Alpha Centurion? I mean… You're a time machine, not a… a…"

The women and The Doctor didn't offer a suggestion.

"Well, you're not exactly able to leave here," Nardole finally said. "So how can you even make friends if you can't go out and about?"

"I can project the graphic interface up to five hundred feet from the TARDIS."

"Or two kilometers with my locket," Sara said, tapping the locket around her neck.

"Doctor," Nardole said, pointing at Sara. "Didn't that locket belong to—"

"Which reminds me, Doctor," Tara said, cutting Nardole off. "I saw the loveliest field of flowers that we should go visit someday," Tara told him. "They were colors I've not seen on another planet. Unfortunately, they were toxic to Sara, so she couldn't get close enough to tell me what they smelled like. But I detected you could."

"I think we can fit that in now," The Doctor told her.

Tara smiled. "Thank you."

"No one is answering my questions!" Nardole bellowed.

"There are dozens of TARDIS, although not all of them have a Time Lord," Tara answered. "And yes, I have two friends who are not _machines_ as you put it. And TARDIS aren't machines, Nardole."

"Has Bill met either of these two?" Nardole asked The Doctor.

"No. Not yet."

"When do you plan to introduce them?"

He didn't answer.

"You're not going to introduce them to her?"

"I hadn't planned on introducing either of them to you and meeting Bill is a choice Tara and Sara must make."

"Why is it up to _her_ to do that? She's your TARDIS."

The Doctor turned a cool smile on him. "She is not my TARDIS, I am her Time Lord. And Sara is Tara's friend. It's up to Tara to decide when and to whom she makes those introductions, not me." He leaned toward Nardole. "The only reason you are seeing either is because Tara doesn't entirely dislike you, so she's fine with introducing both herself and Sara to you."

"She doesn't entirely dislike me?" Nardole turned back to Tara, appalled by the thought she might not like him. "You don't _entirely dislike_ _me_!?"

Tara laughed and Sara giggled.

"That's not funny!" Nardole loudly objected.

"It's kind of funny," Sara said.

"It is a little funny," Tara added.

"You dislike me?" he asked Tara with a pouty expression.

"Not _entirely_. You annoy me less than when I first met you. And I don't know that Sara and Bill will ever meet. We've never discussed it."

"We could now," Sara said.

"Sure. Do you want to meet Bill?"

Sara thought for a moment. "Do you want her to know about you?"

"Not really."

"There it is, Nardole. We'll meet Bill sometime later."

The Doctor turned around. "Why don't you want Bill to know about you, Tara?"

"I don't feel comfortable with her yet. Why do you think I left you two on Mars? I wasn't sure I wanted to bring her back at all."

"That was rude," he told her. "You stranded me as well."

Sara smirked. "Calling Tara rude for up an leaving ya is the pot calling the kettle black, Doctor."

"Watch it, miss." He said, shaking a finger at her as he turned back around. "I am nothing like Tara."

"Well, that is true." Tara leaned over the chess board. "He can't actually travel through time and space like I can. And unlike me, he can gain a few pounds."

"I can program a few pounds on you, Tara," he jokingly threatened.

The two laughed.

Sara suddenly stood, leaning on the railing. "Doctor… You can see again!"

"Yes. That was Bill's doing."

"Good for Bill."

"Well, not really. She nearly destroyed humanity to do it," Nardole told her.

"I'm still not entirely pleased with that," The Doctor added.

"But you saved humanity?" Sara asked.

"Bill saved humanity."

"So, she nearly destroyed it, but saved it, and you're still upset with her? Grudges aren't a good thing to hold, Doctor," Sara lectured.

"It's not really a grudge. I just have this feeling that…" He shook his head, not finishing his thought.

"That what?" Nardole asked.

He walked up the stairs to the chess board, staring at it. "Whose move?"

Sara sat back down, looking at the board. "Mine." She peered up at him. "Do not finish my game again, sir."

"But you're losing," he told her.

"Then I lose. And I learn one more way how not to lose a chess match."

He almost smiled as he reached out and gently stroked down her hair. "You should have been my companion."

"But I don't like danger and venturing."

"I suppose there's something to be said about that." He walked away, disappearing into a hall.

Sara and Tara exchanged smiles.

"Was he having a feeling?" Nardole asked.

"No. That was not a feeling," Tara told him. "Your move, Sara, plain and tall."

Sara moved her last knight. Tara moved her bishop.

"Check mate," Tara told her friend.

Sara laughed. "I should have let him show me the next move after all."

"I thought you wanted to learn?" Tara taunted.

Sara wrinkled her nose with a smile. "Yeah, but… One game wouldn't hurt."

"Give in to that, and soon you'll be adventuring and running from certain death with our dear Doctor."

"Are you two going to just ignore me?"

They answered, "Yes," together.

Nardole threw up his hands and disappeared down the steps into the darkness below. It made the two giggle.

"Another game?" Tara asked.

"Absolutely. And I'm winning this one!"

"We'll see." Tara reset the board and they started another round.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sara reined the stallion in from a run to a walk as they came to the end of the bridle trail. Walking up onto the road, she turned his head toward the farm. As they drew nearer to the farm, she sensed something was wrong. A policeman had parked his car in front of the gate so it blocked anyone from entering. When he motioned her to stop, she obeyed.

"You can't go inside," he told her.

"I live here. I'm their horse trainer. What's going on?"

"You can't go inside."

"I have to get this horse back to the barn. I still have five more to work out before lunch."

"I'm sorry, miss, you can't go in."

"What is happening?"

"I can't say."

"You can! Tell me what's happened!"

"I'm sorry, miss, I can't say. You have to wait here."

Sara looked toward the house, but it was hidden by trees. She glared at the police officer for a moment, then reined the stallion away. She spurred him into a canter, going back down the road. At the neighbor's property, she turned and rode along the fence to a gate. Sara jumped off and started pulling at the overgrown weeds until the gate was free. She tugged the gate open, led the horse through, and then tugged it shut. She climbed back onto the tall Thoroughbred and spurred him into a run toward the house.

She came around the barn to find a dozen police cars, three ambulance and the coroner's car parked at the farm house. Sara slowed the horse to a walk. Two officers spotted her and ran toward them with their pistols aimed at Sara. She stopped the horse, and for a moment the officers and Sara stared at each other.

"How did you get on the property?" one demanded to know.

"I live here. What has happened? Why is the coroner here?" Sara demanded. "Where are Ben and Mary and the kids? Are they okay?"

"Who are you?" one of the officers asked.

"Sara O'Dwyer. I'm the trainer. What is happening?"

"How long have you been gone, miss?"

"Three hours. We left before dawn for a ride. Why?"

"Did you go to the house before you left?"

"No. Tell me what is happening! Where is Ben? I want to talk to Ben."

The officer said something quietly to the other and the other officer ran off. The policeman and holstered his gun and motioned Sara to him.

"Get off the horse, Sara."

"I am not getting off until you tell me what his happening!"

"The family is dead."

Sara froze. "Dead?" she whispered.

"Yes. They were murdered."

"No? What? Where are the children and the baby?" She began shaking. The horse responded by pawing and trying to fight her hold on the reins. Instinct kept her hold on the horse, holding him in place, but her attention wasn't even on him.

"All of them, Sara." He reached a hand out again. "Come on. Get down. We need to talk."

"Why would someone murder them? Why would someone kill a baby and children?"

"How well did you know this family?"

"I've worked for them for years. Why?"

"That boy shouldn't have started the things he did. He should have kept his nose out of other people's business and let things just be. It's what got all of them killed, even the baby."

"What things? What did he start?"

The officer didn't answer.

"You mean the equal rights protests? Is that what you mean?"

"I'm mean their kind should know better."

"Their kind?"

"Colored."

"They were killed because they were colored!? It's 1977! They just wanted pay to be equal!"

"Miss, get down."

She backed the stallion up when he reached toward her. "My employers were killed because of their skin color?"

"Hello," a voice said behind her.

She turned the horse and found The Doctor behind her. He smiled, walking up as he flicked open an identification holder. She'd seen him use this identification before, and it was always something different when he showed it to people – even her. Like magic, it always fit the situation.

The Doctor approached the officer, telling him, "I'm here from the F.B.I."

The officer read the identification and then scowled. "Of course you are. Here to take over our case, I suppose? Tell us how to do our job?"

"No, actually. I'm here because Miss O'Dwyer has been doing some clerical work for us. I came to pick it up. What's happening here?" He motioned at the house.

"There's been a murder."

"I see. Well, why don't you get on back to it and I'll stay with Miss O'Dwyer? As soon as you lead investigator can, we'd like to know what's happening."

He nodded and walked away.

"Get down, Sara," The Doctor told her, turning to her.

She shook her head as hot tears began running.

"Oh, Sara, plain and tall." He laid his hand on her knee, giving it a light squeeze. "Come down, dear."

"You only call me dear when you have bad news," she whispered.

He nodded. "Come down, dear," he repeated.

She climbed off and threw her arms around him. He held her tight. The tears began to ebb as a realization came to mind. She stepped back, staring wide-eyed at him.

"Three months ago, you asked me if I had ever gone into their house. You said that was good when I told you no. You said I should never go inside for any reason. You _knew_ this was going to happen, didn't you?"

He solemnly nodded.

"You should have told me! I could have warned them!" She burst into gasping sobs

He laid his hands on her shoulders. She tried to push him away but he firmly gripped her shoulders until she stopped moving.

The Doctor looked in her eyes, quietly telling her, "There was no saving them, Sara. Trust me, I tried but they always died. And you always ended up dying with them. Not telling you _and_ doing nothing was the only way I could save you."

"You didn't tell me because you didn't want me to die, too?"

"Yes."

"That's selfish! Why do you have to be so selfish?"

"I could save you or I could save no one. How is that selfish?"

She didn't answer."

"Are you mad at me right now because I saved you, or are you mad because of the ludicrous reason they died?"

That renewed her sobs and for several minutes she couldn't talk. The Doctor pulled her into a hug and held her until she had calmed down again.

"It's not fair. Their skin color shouldn't matter."

"No. That is not fair," he agreed.

She looked up at his face. "Does it ever change? Do humans ever stop discriminating?"

"Of course."

She shook her head. "You're lying."

He nodded. "I am."

She closed her eyes. "What's going to happen to the horses? They have three dogs. What's going to happen to them?"

He smiled. "I know that they are left in very good, capable hands."

"Whose?"

"Yours."

"Are you sure?" She stared intensely at his face.

"I'm sure. I read the newspaper and it talked less about that, and mostly about the murder. Don't get the newspaper for the next few weeks. They won't be kind to such a kind family."

Sara barely nodded. He patted her shoulder. "Why don't you tend to this beast here?" The Doctor laid his hand on the horse's sweaty neck. "Tara is waiting in the barn for you. Then the two of you can join me in your apartment and we'll wait for more information from the police."

She nodded, but started to cry again. She gathered the reins in her hand and led the horse away to the barn.

The Doctor turned, looking at the house. His love for humans and Earth made times like these painful. He wished that they could see each other better and accept differences, but having traveled from the start of time to the end of it, he knew this was an empty wish.

Although, in fairness, it was a problem that plagued every corner the universe, not just this small blue speck.


	11. Chapter 11

Sara and Tara sat atop a knoll, watching the Pict village below. It was the 2nd century in Scotland. She had never been this far back in Earth's history, and the first thing she noticed as they walked away from the TARDIS was how quiet it was. There weren't any planes flying overhead, no cars or anything else mechanical. She had never traveled to extremely isolated areas of Earth in her present, but she imagined those places all that could be heard was the wind, insects, and birds.

"So… If I'm to understand this correctly," Sara began, "This tribe guards some kind of door—"

Tara corrected her. "Interdimensional portal."

"Let's go with door. I understand that."

"Okay."

"And there's these things that live behind the door, and if they come out they could eat the sun?"

"Yes. Exactly."

"And you're sure we're still on Earth in the far past? Not some other planet?"

Tara chuckled. "I am sure."

"How could anything eat the sun? The sun is thousands of degrees or something like that."

"It is five thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight Kelvin."

"Tara, I train horses, not study the sun; it's very hot, okay?"

Tara smiled. "Okay."

"How can something eat the sun if it's so hot?"

"That I do not know. Not yet, anyway. But they can, and they would if this tribe wasn't here to stop them."

"And so, in a few days, there's going to be a Roman army come in here to invade, and one of the Pict is going to let one of these things out? And The Doctor and Bill come back and fix this, and no one ever learns of it. Right?"

"Yes. She lets it out to defeat the Romans. And they don't come back here to fix it, exactly. It starts out as a disagreement between them about a historical event – what happened to the ninth legion of the Roman army specifically – and so they come back to prove they're both right, which, it turns out, both are incredibly wrong."

"Huh." Sara pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "Even Earth can be strange, I guess."

"Can it? I hadn't noticed."

Sara narrowed her eyes into a fake glare. "Are you teasing me?"

Tara smiled again. "Maybe a little."

Sara smiled and shook her head. She heard someone say something nearby and turned her head. She didn't see anyone, just a large black crow on a rock. She looked back at the village.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard a voice mangle the word, "Stranger."

She looked for the voice again. Tara started giggling, bringing her attention back to her.

"What?"

"You haven't figured it out who keeps saying that, have you?"

"You hear them too?"

"Of course I hear it."

"I said them, not it."

"It, not them," Tara corrected her.

"What is _it_ then?"

Tara looked back, where the crow was. "The crow."

Sara glanced at it, then back at Tara. She waited for the joke to drop, but Tara didn't hint she was just kidding.

Incredulous, Sara asked, "The crow is talking?"

"Yes."

"Crows can't talk. Parrots can talk, but not crows."

"Many birds speak, including crows."

"You mean they can be taught to sound like they're talking, but they don't actually understand what they're saying. They can't have a conversation with a human."

"No. I mean crows can have conversations with humans. They have their own language, and it's very close to what English sounds like. They don't have as extensive of vocabulary as humans, so it does require filling in the blanks quite often. But they can have a conversation with a human and understand what's being said."

"That crow is talking?" Sara pointed at it.

"Yes. Listen." Tara turned her head toward the crow. "Friend," she said.

The crow tilted his head, eyeing the two of them. "Stranger," it came back.

"Friend. No stranger."

For a moment, it stared at them, then came back with, "Stranger," and flew away.

Tara leaned toward Sara. "Do not ever make a crow or raven mad."

"Why?"

"They tell their children about it, and they can go for generations hating you. And if it's something incredibly awful, they can even go generations holding a grudge against your generations."

Sara laughed. "What can a crow do?"

"They can put holes in roofs, radiators, claw faces, eat food stores…"

"I take it they aren't big on apologies, then."

"Sometimes, but usually not."

"So, they're elitists?"

Tara thought for a moment. "Perhaps."

The two laughed at that thought.

Sara asked, "Can they still talk? Are they talking back home right now?"

"They are."

"Why haven't I ever heard them?"

"Over the decades, humans have conditioned themselves to tune them out."

"It doesn't make them mad that humans ignore them now? I mean then. Or is it in the future? Time travel grammar never gets less confusing."

Tara laughed at her friend's joke. "I don't know. I've never asked one."

"Hm. I guess I'll have to listen more when I get back. Tara, I want to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me."

Tara didn't answer right away.

"Tara."

She looked at Sara and smiled. "It's about the Jackson's murder, isn't it?"

"The Doctor said he tried everything he could to save them, but it came down to them or me. Is that true? Did he try everything?"

"Yes. He ran every simulation he could to try saving both the family, even one member of the family and you. The result was always the same – all of you died. The only way he could save you was to not tell you and not save them. He was not lying, Sara."

"He ran _simulations_? He didn't actually go back in time or whatever he does to _try_ saving them?"

"You know so little about how things work for Time Lords. They can travel through time and dimensions within their mind, leaving their body in one place as they do it. They can see every possible outcome. As soon as he saw this event happen in your timeline, he did go to other times and dimensions, and he calls that simulations. He really did try to find an alternative." Tara smiled, tilting her head. "He'd never admit, not even to me, but I think you've become one of his few, close friends. You're always there when he needs you – except for adventuring. But I think that's why he likes you. You are consistent and steady. Time Lords aren't known for those qualities."

"They're flitty, Time Lords are." Sara picked at the grass at her feet. "And what about Ben Jackson's will?"

"What of it?"

"Did he change it?"

Tara didn't answer. Sara looked up, seeing she was smiling.

"No. Benjamin Jackson changed his will after his first child was born. When she was thrown from the horse, it was your quick actions that saved both Jeremiah and Mary. You got them to the hospital and stayed with her while she delivered her son, and never left her side until Ben arrived. I think the two of them thought of you as a daughter, not as much an employee."

Sara looked down at the ground, pulling more grass up and forming a wad in her hand. She shifted, sitting cross-legged. Three crows flew past overhead, cawing. She listened, trying to understand them, but she didn't hear any words.

"They're telling others about some food they found, if you're wondering," Tara told her.

Sara smiled. She looked down at the Pict tribe. "Tell me more about the Pict."

Tara began storytelling, entertaining Sara until The Doctor called for her.

#

The TARDIS appeared in the New York words, in the same place it always did to pick up Sara. But Sara wasn't waiting today. Tara appeared outside and waited for a several minutes before disappearing. The door opened, and The Doctor walked out. Tara joined him.

He stated the obvious, "She's not here."

"Yes, I know, Doctor. I also tried her locket. It's in her bedroom, and she wasn't there."

"Can't you sense her?"

Tara shot glowered. "On a planet of humans, Doctor? Do I really have to answer that?"

"No. Of course, you can't. Well, she's not here. Let's go." He stepped back inside, grabbing the door to shut it.

"Doctor!"

"I have things to do today."

"You can go check the farm. If she's not there, we'll leave."

"I'm in a rush."

"You are always in a hurry. Please?"

He looked cross for a moment, but he could never refuse that distressed look Tara got when she was worried.

"Fine." He walked away.

"Thank you!" she called after him.

He was gone for two hours. When he returned, Sara was with him. The two were talking quietly, but the conversation ended before they reached Tara.

"Where were you?" Tara asked.

"I was in the middle of negotiations."

"Negotiations for what?"

"She was negotiating with crows," The Doctor answered as he went inside. "Come on, ladies. I have things to do, people to see, timelines to fiddle with."

Sara giggled. "They were eating out of the hay field near the barn and making a horrid mess. I wanted them to move to the other end. He talked them into it. I have to build them a roost when I get back, but that's a small price to pay."

"I thought you couldn't speak to them."

"I'm learning. He did most of the talking this time. It was entertaining. The hired help thinks I'm daft talking with birds, but they don't know anything."

"You are daft trying to negotiate with crows."

"I got what I wanted."

"Maybe. Just don't go back on your word."

"I won't, mum! Bossy are ya?"

Tara laughed.

"This millennium, if you don't mind, ladies," The Doctor called from inside.

Sara walked inside as Tara disappeared.

The TARDIS whirred away.

#

Sara slouched in an armchair, staring at the railing of the mezzanine. Below her, The Doctor was fiddling with the TARDIS controls.

"Do you think they will honor the agreement?" Sara asked.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"The crows. Will they honor their agreement? Tara didn't seem so sure when I told her."

"Yes."

"How can you be sure?"

"They pride themselves on being fair and honest. If you keep your side of the agreement, they will keep theirs."

"This is going to be hard to explain to anyone."

He smiled. "As are most arrangements with unknown species. But I thought it was particularly kind of you to offer them a roost in return for staying at the bottom of the field. They were pleased to have a roof for the coming winter."

"Is that what the squawking was? Excitement? It sounded like someone being killed."

He laughed. "Just remember, they know you can understand them now. They will expect your attention when they want it. Try not to ignore them, or they will become offended."

"I'll try."

"How is your farm coming along?"

"It's okay. I still can't convince myself to move into the main house."

"That could take time."

"Or never. Maybe I should just rent it."

"That is an option. You do know the crows were so agreeable because Ben often talked with them."

Sara sat up in the chair, smiling. "He did?"

"Yes. I saw him several times talking to them. He was very discreet about it. That's why they were so agreeable."

"If that's what you call agreeable, I'd hate to see what disagreeable is."

"Pecking your eyes out and eating your entrails."

"Doctor!"

He laughed. "More like stealing your food and flying close enough to scare you."

Sara picked up a pillow nearby and threw it at his head, hitting him. He glanced back at her with a smile.

"You're home again."

She got up and walked over to the door. She turned at the door, watching him. He noticed and stopped what he was doing.

"Yes?"

"I've wanted to say… I'm sorry I was so mad at you for saving my life. The whole moment was just… Overwhelming. I'm sorry I took it out on you."

"It happens all the time. No need to apologize."

"That right there is why I must apologize. I'll always wish they could have been saved, but I believe you when you said you couldn't do anything. I trust ya." She thought a moment. "Just not for adventurin'."

He smiled at her, and she returned it.

"I will see you later. Or maybe it's before." She turned and walked out the door. "Time travel is always so confusing."

He chuckled, then began working the controls to take him and the TARDIS back to the university. Tara appeared next to him.

"You know, humans, Time Lords, even TARDIS, can have more than one friend, don't you?" Tara asked him.

"I didn't know that. Thank you for reminding me."

She laughed at his sarcasm. "When will you admit that my friend is your friend too."

"She'll always be an acquaintance."

"What is so wrong with letting yourself have a friend?"

"My friends get hurt and die. Yours don't. So, she will never be my friend, and we keep things the way they are. Do you understand, Tara?"

Tara's smile fell away. "Yes. We keep things the way they are."

"Now, can you go finish those repairs?"

"Yes, Doctor." Tara vanished.


	12. Chapter 12

"Sara," a warbly voice whispered.

Sara stirred but didn't move to acknowledge the whispering voice.

"Sara, wake up," the voice urged.

She moved. The man in bed next to Sara barely reacted to the whispering voice.

" _Sara!_ "

Sara opened her eyes. In the dark room, she could just make out the man's face. He didn't appear awake, so she closed her eyes and began drifting back to sleep.

"Sara, _please_ wake up. _Please_!"

Sara rolled over. An image of Tara stood next to the bed, but she did not look normal. Instead of being clear, crisp, and looking realistic, she was staticky and vacillated like a TV channel barely tuned in.

Sara slowly climbed out of bed, watching the man to make sure she didn't wake him.

"Where are you?" she whispered to Tara.

"I'm here. Sara-"

"No. Where are you _actually_?"

"Behind the barn. But-"

"Go back there. I'll come to you."

"But, Sara, I-"

"Go!"

Tara didn't leave at once. She looked very anxious and upset, and like she wanted to talk right now. After several minutes, she disappeared.

Sara quietly dressed and snuck downstairs. She pulled on boots and a jacket and slipped out the front door. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ran toward the barn.

She came around the corner and stopped, staring at the TARDIS. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ran toward the barn. A corner of the back had merged with the back of the barn. One door hung open on one hinge, and the other door was gone. Sparks spit from inside, and she could smell burning rubber. The lights inside flickered, going dark for several seconds at a time.

Sara approached slowly and stopped once she stepped inside.

Inside was much worse. Fire had scorched metal and melted glass and plastic. The main monitor was cracked with whatever oozing like black blood onto the controls. Paper, leather, glass, wood, and metal were strewn everywhere.

"Tara?" Sara said.

She appeared next to Sara.

"What happened?" Sara asked. "Who did this to you? Why didn't you go to The Doctor?"

Tara made a face, and then tears began flowing. Sara was surprised by the tears. Had Tara always been able to cry, or did this have to do something with all the damage?

"The Doctor did this. Well, I mean, he didn't do intentionally. He didn't want to regenerate, see, and he was trying to resist it. And we ended up back in time where he met himself at another time he didn't want to regenerate. And they were both fighting it. Then Bill was there, sort of. It wasn't the original Bill, it was a copy of Bill, and they all went out to go find out how Bill was created. And when they did, we took the captain back to World War II."

Sara couldn't hide how confused she was, but she let Tara talk. She hoped that somewhere in this she'd start to understand what had happened.

"Then Bill and Nodal were there. I heard them talking, the three of them, I don't know what about, and he came back on, and he was talking to himself, no, to his future self, and then he regenerated. Sara, I've seen dozens of regenerations of his kind, but this was unusual. It was like... Like an explosion went off inside me. It was him regenerating, you see? And I couldn't control anything. I lost control of myself, Tara! He'd sent us off to... I don't know where. I can't remember where he was sending us. I was scared because I couldn't control anything. I was out of control! Suddenly, I was above Earth, but I don't know when. I couldn't keep myself stable, I couldn't keep the gravity upright. I was trying, I was trying so hard! The explosion had blown open one of the doors, and he fell and slid toward the door and I... I lost him – or her – I don't know which he is now. I couldn't get a reading on him because nothing was working. He fell out, Sara! He was falling toward Earth, and I couldn't rescue him! I couldn't control me! Then I remember thinking of you. I wished you were there to help us. You always help me see things so clearly. And that's when I found myself here. I am so sorry about the barn. I didn't mean to damage it. I couldn't control how I rematerialized. I couldn't stop myself. I-"

"What you need to do right now, Tara, is stop talking and take a long deep breath. Stop. Talking."

Tara did.

"Take a breath."

Her image moved like she was doing it. Sara could hear and feel air move as if the entire ship was taking a deep breath, and then expelling it. She began to speak, and Sara cut her off.

"No. Don't talk. You're hurt, Tara. I can see that. Here's what we're going to do... You can't help him now, not in this shape. You will turn off everything, and you will get some rest. When it's daylight, I'll be back, and we'll fix you. Then you can go find him and save him. Okay?"

"I don't need to fix everything, just the important parts."

"Okay. You can tell me how."

Tara started crying again. "You don't know how! You are all thumbs whenever I've tried to teach you how to fix electronics!"

Sara smiled. "That's true. But Jason isn't."

"Who's Jason?"

"My husband."

"You're married?"

"Aye."

"When did you get married?"

"Two years ago."

"Two years ago? How long have I been gone?"

"Don't you remember?"

"No. I was caught in the event horizon of a black hole, and when I got out and found him, Bill had been killed. He kept moving, doing things, so he didn't have to think about it. That's part of why he didn't want to regenerate. Oh!" She put her head in her hands, shaking it slightly. "Your first husband, Jason. I wanted to be here for that. I missed it. I'm so sorry, Sara. Once I fix all this, I'll go back so I can be there with you. I wanted to be there with you."

"What do you mean when you say, 'your first husband'?"

Tara bit down on her bottom lip. "You always say you don't want to ever know your future."

"My first husb-" Sara shook her head. "Aye. And right now, we need to worry about you and The Doctor. You're going to shut down, and you're going to save your energy." Sara looked at her watch. "The sun will be up in six more hours. We'll sort this all out then." She looked up at her friend. "Agreed?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Sara smiled. "Of course. You'll be back to him in no time. Don't worry."

Tara smiled and then flickered off.

Sara walked back to the house and returned to bed with her husband. She laid for hours staring at his face, worried by the comment, 'Your first husband.'

#

Jason stared at the inside of the TARDIS as if he expected everything in it to bite him. Sara placed her hand on his arm, and he jumped before looking at her.

"This is... A spaceship?" he asked

"Of sorts, yes."

"And it's your friend?"

"Aye. It's sentient."

"And usually there's a man with it?"

"Aye."

"But the ship lost him?"

"Aye. There was an explosion, and he fell out while it was... Flying."

"Why did you hesitate?"

"There are some things, darling, that are easier to see than explain, and this be one of those things. Just trust me, Jason, because what we need is for you to help Tara fix herself, so she can go back and save Him."

"Go back where?"

"Back... Well, she's not sure. She doesn't know exactly _when_ she lost him."

"She's not sure _when_ she lost him?"

"Aye."

"How do you lose a person and not know you've lost them, or where?"

"She knows where she lost him, just not what year she lost him. Her gadgets and machinery got all messed up in the explosion." Sara waved at the central computer.

"Sara, I don't understand anything you've told me. None of it!"

"My love, you are a brilliant engineer at the best company in the country. I don't need you to understand why I need this from you, I just need you to do it and help my friend fix herself well enough that she can rescue her Doctor."

"If this Doctor is lost, then we should report it to the police, and we should report this..." He started to walk away. "Whatever this is, as well."

Sara grabbed his arm and stopped him. "No, Jason, we will have nothing to do with the police or any other government sanction. You need to trust your wife and listen to me. Tara needs your help. Please, darling, help me help my oldest and closest friend."

"Who is this..." He motioned around him. "You said Tara is this ship and now she's your friend? This makes absolutely _no_ sense, Sara!"

Sara sighed and stretched her neck. "Okay, Tara. Let him see ya. Clearly, I'm not getting this through his head."

Tara appeared before them. She was still out of whack.

"What's that?" Jason gasped, falling back several steps.

"That is the holographic interface of the TARDIS, but she is also Tara, my friend, and the one you are helping."

"Hi," Tara said, trying to smile. It was very weak.

"H-Hi," Jason whispered.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else for help," Tara told Sara.

Sara turned to her. "I thought you couldn't control yourself."

"I can't easily, but if he's going to fear me or call the police, he won't be any help."

"You are not taking me anywhere in your shape, Tara. You're hurt, badly. And Jason, you need to pull yourself together and behave like a grown man!"

"I'm in an alien ship speaking to a fake person!"

"That is all true, and even more reason you need to behave like a man."

"Sweetheart, this is more than any normal man can take."

Sara put her hands on her hips. "Oh, well, in that case, I guess you're a normal man and not the great, capable, smart one who I married. Clearly, I misjudged you for being capable of doing things other men can't."

Jason's jaw set. "Don't you talk to me like that."

"Or what?"

"Or... I'll... I'll..."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You'll what?"

Jason pushed a breath through his teeth. "You are infuriating, woman!"

She smiled. "You said that the first day we met, and it hasn't changed."

"Okay. Alright. I'll help."

"Great." Sara kissed his cheek. "I'll leave you to it. After I've fed the horses, I'll bring you some breakfast, and I'll start cleaning up in here." Sara walked toward the doors. "I at least know my way around a broom and a mop, Tara."

Tara smiled at the joke.

"Wait," Jason said.

She stopped and turned. He shook his finger, pointing around the TARDIS.

"You have always told me that I can't exterminate those crows down by the field, that Tara and her friend would be angry with you for that. Are this thing and this Doctor who you're talking about?"

"Aye."

"Explain that?"

"Now?"

"Right now."

"Alright. Crows communicate with humans if you listen to them, and those crows have lived on this land for generations. Ben spoke to them before me, and now I speak to them. The reason they stay at the end of the field and why we keep the roosts down there and why you will not harm them, ever, is because I, and the Doctor, made a deal with them. We keep the roosts in repair, and they will not come up to the barn and house and make a mess. They also are very good at keeping the snakes away from the house and the horses – that was a more recent offer they made if I gave them more corn."

Jason stared at her.

"That is a good arrangement to have with them," Tara commented. "They're very good at scaring away snakes."

Jason looked at Tara, then back at Sara. "Do I even know you?"

"You do. I just never told you about this. I had hoped to do it in a more genial way, but as fate sees it differently. Tara needs help, and you're the best person I know of who can provide that help. I am sorry for it all coming at you like this, Jason."

He sighed, then looked at Tara. "What tools do I need?"

"I have everything you need."

"Where do we start?"

"Follow me," Tara said and led him up the stairs.

When the two disappeared into a hall, Sara left them.

#

"Darling," Sara said.

Jason was under the main computer, working on a circuit board. He turned his head, finding her laying on the floor close by. She held up a plate with a sandwich, cucumber spears, and fried potatoes slices.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Just a minute," he answered.

She sat up, taking the plate with her.

Jason finished.

"Try that, Tara," he called out.

Lights above his head flickered on and stayed on.

"I have a steady circuit again," Tara said from somewhere nearby.

Jason scooted out and walked up the stairs to the main platform. Sara sat on the steps to the mezzanine with two plates on her lap. He sat down next to her, and she handed him a plate.

Tara appeared in front of them. She looked like a real woman again.

Sara smiled. "You're fixed!"

"Yes. That's the last fix we made. I can leave now."

"Should we step off?" Sara stood, anticipating the answer. Jason slowly stood too, uncertain of what was happening.

"No. Eat first. I have to find The Doctor first."

Tara disappeared. Husband and wife sat back down and began eating.

"I never saw an end to this ship. It's as if it were infinite," Jason quietly told Sara

"Aye." She smiled at him. "Maybe it is."

Jason chewed a bite while he thought.

"What exactly does this Doctor do?"

Sara shrugged her eyebrows. "I guess... You'd call him a time fixer. He goes back and forth in time and fixes things, helps humans and other creatures, and the like."

"Is he nice?"

"Depends on the day."

"He's not always nice?"

Sara smiled. "He was always nice when I first met him, but after he regenerated, he hasn't always been."

"What was he like when you met the other one?" He smiled at his sandwich. "This is so strange to talk about."

She quietly laughed. "The first version of The Doctor that I met was kind almost to a fault and a spunky bloke. After he regenerated, he didn't know who he was for a while, and he was cranky, short-tempered, mean. He's gotten nicer since then, but sometimes he can be very condescending and cruel." Sara wagged her head side to side. "Just depends on the day and who he's trying to save at the moment."

"Does he regenerate like... Like an earthworm cut in half?"

"Does that help you wrap your mind around it?" Sara looked at her husband as she munched her last cucumber spear.

"It's not like that?"

"I don't think so, but I don't fully understand it myself. I just know what it's called and that when it happened, the last time he looked like an entirely different man when I saw him. Well, he's not a man, he's a Time Lord, but he looks human."

"And he regenerated inside this ship this time, and it caused it to explode?"

"I guess."

"In a way, yes," Tara said when she reappeared. "It's the easiest explanation. I found him, but finish eating, and then I'll go."

Jason ate some of his supper, watching her while he did.

"That locket you have," he said, looking back at his wife. "You said that it's from Tara and a friend. It's from this Doctor and this ship?"

Sara instinctively touched her locket. "Yes. It lets Tara project her holograph several miles from the TARDIS so we can explore more planets together."

"Planets? You've been to other planets?"

"Dozens more, yes. Well, at least the ones that I wouldn't get killed on." Sara leaned in. "I'm not big on adventurin' like that."

Jason smiled. "I would be."

"You say that now." Sara sat up. "You haven't met _him_ yet, and his way of adventurin'. It downright scares me."

"It scares you?" Tara asked.

"Yes. How many times did he and Clara almost get killed and barely make it back to you? No thank you!"

"That sounds exciting," Jason said.

Sara smiled at him. "Maybe he'll let you go with him sometime."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Tara quickly said.

Sara finished her plate and set it aside. "He could go if The Doctor said he could."

Tara turned away, looking at something on the controls. Sara noticed but didn't say anything. Jason finished his supper and held his hand out.

"I'll take the plates up to the house. If she needs to go save this Doctor of hers, she should go."

Sara handed him her plate. "Thank you for fixing the doors, darling."

He kissed her forehead. "I didn't do much. She had spares in what she calls the basement. The elevator said it was 299 floors down and there were still a hundred more floors to go."

Sara smiled, watching him stand. He walked past Tara.

"Good luck with finding this Doctor, Tara."

"Thank you," Tara called out.

Sara stood and walked over to stand next to her friend. She watched Jason disappear into the night outside the open doors.

"I lose him when he goes on an adventure with The Doctor, don't I?" Sara asked.

Tara didn't answer.

Sara looked at her. "Don't I, Tara?"

Tara closed her eyes for a moment. She turned her head to stare back at Sara and slowly nodded.

"Can I prevent it?"

"I don't think so. If he stays here... He'll die in a car accident on the same day, same time. If he goes with The Doctor, he's killed escaping Daleks. Which would you prefer? Him dying in something as senseless as a car accident or dying while he's enjoying life?"

"I can't prevent it?"

"No. Not when he dies no matter what change is made."

"Like Ben and his family?"

"Exactly like that, yes. Some people are fated to die at a specific day and time, and nothing you can do will change it."

"Am I fated to die on a specific day and time?"

"I thought you never wanted to know about your death."

"I don't want to know when I want to know if my day and time is set forever."

Tara smiled. "No."

"And how do you know that?"

Her smile grew more. "Because I've already saved you more times than you will ever know. There were so many times you were supposed to die here on Earth, but I took you away, and you lived. Your death is not set. I know it will happen, eventually – it does to all humans – but I don't know when or where anymore. And He keeps helping me stop it."

"That isn't fair."

Tara's smile faded. "What isn't?"

"My life is the only thing that truly belongs to me. It's my right to say if I want to be saved from death or not. You can't keep doing this without talking to me first."

"By the time I could talk to you about it, you'd be dead."

"I don't want to live without Jason."

"But if you live without him, there will be someone else. This isn't the end of your life, it's just a moment."

"Stop deciding my deaths for me. Do you understand?"

Tara slowly nodded.

"And as for Jason..." She looked out the doors. "I am going to tell him about the two choices, and I am going to respect whichever choice he makes. You will come back two days before he dies, just in case he wants to die on an adventure." Sara smiled at Tara.

Tara nodded. "Okay."

Sara nodded once and walked to the doors. She turned outside, grabbing them.

"Hurry back. Save your Doctor, Tara."

"I'll be back in the blink of an eye."

Sara closed the doors and watched the TARDIS disappear. Her smile faded when she stood in the dark. She knew it was right to tell her husband about his impending death, but it was a burden that left her with dread.

She started walking back to the house. She wouldn't do it tonight. He'd already been burdened with too much. She'd wait for a while, a week, maybe. Or maybe she'd wait for Tara to return and she had moral support. Or maybe it would be better to have more solid support – The Doctor himself, perhaps.

She looked skyward, whispering, "Come back soon. Both of you."


	13. Chapter 13

Sara barely stirred from sleep when someone knocked on her front door. An old Collie trotted from the kitchen to the door, wagging its tail in anticipation of greeting the visitor. Sara didn't move from the couch. The person knocked again.

She closed her eyes, wishing the person away. The dog trotted over to her and whined.

"Go lay down," she ordered, pushing its head away when it thrust it's nose in her face.

It whined at her. The person at the door knocked again.

"Go lay down!" Sara snapped at the dog.

Dejected, the dog went back to the door. It sat down, staring at the door as it softly whined. Sara threw her blanket over her head. The person knocked again. Still she didn't move.

She heard the front door open and the dog began yipping excitedly.

"Helloooo," a woman called out.

Sara didn't respond. She closed her eyes tight, wishing the person away. She whispered, "I can't take another visitor."

"Sara are you-" The woman's voice was coming closer. "Oh! There you are. Found her!"

Sara didn't move. She didn't care who the woman was or what she wanted or who she was finding her for.

"Sara?" another woman said – the familiar voice of-

Sara pulled the blanket back, staring up at the holograph of Tara. Standing next to her was a blonde woman. She looked like she'd rummaged through a garbage bin for her clothes, and her lopsided smile didn't help her image.

"Sara," the blond said gleefully. "I haven't seen you in... Well... It's been six years for you, hasn't it?"

"Who is she?" Sara growled at Tara.

"The Doctor," Tara told her. "Remember? I told you she was a she. He was a she. The Doctor is a woman now."

"Good for you both. Get out." Sara threw the blanket back over her head.

There was a moment of silence.

"She wanted to see you since she regenerated; she wanted you to know what she looked like. I'm sorry it's been a while."

"Three years, four days," Sara snarled.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long. Things happened. I lost The Doctor, I thought I found The Doctor, I got caught in a-"

Sara exploded off the couch, throwing the blanket away. The Doctor took stepped back with a look of surprise.

"Of course you did! Of course!" Sara snarled at Tara. "When I need you, when I _really_ need you, you can't ever be here. It's always something with you. You always have something more important to do, someone more important to save. You wouldn't even _try_ to save Jason – there'll be another, you said. _I DON'T WANT ANOTHER! I WANT JASON!_ "

Sara was trembling by the time she stopped. Tears flowed down her face. Tara stared at her.

"Not everyone can be saved," The Doctor started. "Not everyone-"

"GO TO HELL!" Sara screamed at her. "AND GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE! BOTH OF YOU! I NEVER WANT TO SEE EITHER OF YOU AGAIN! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT RUIN MY LIFE! _RUIN IT!_ "

"Sara, I tried to tell you about-" Tara started.

Sara yanked her locket off her neck and stomped the heel of her foot on it over and over and over, until it was pieces covered with blood. And Tara was gone. She glared at The Doctor.

"Get out of my house," Sara snarled.

The Doctor nodded. "Very well." She turned and walked away.

At the door, The Doctor paused when Sara began to sob. The sobs swiftly turned to wails. The woman's grief tore at her hearts. She quietly closing the door as she walked out.

#

The Doctor walked into the Tardis to find things chaotic.

"Tara," The Doctor called.

She didn't appear.

"Tara, let's talk, love."

Tara appeared before her, crying holographic tears.

"She always told me not to tell her about her future, then she asked me to tell her, so I did. I did what my friend asked. And now she's angry with me? I don't understand this. I don't know what I did wrong!"

The Doctor smiled. "Darling, you did nothing wrong. But you've also never experienced a friend in pain before."

"I've felt yours."

"Yes, but I've had thousands of years to get a better handle on it. Sara's only had thirty-three. And Jason was the first man she fell in love with. Her anger is meant for the world and she can't stop herself from blaming something or someone. You just happen to be that someone right now. You and I both know you could no more stop his death than you could stop the creation of the universe. Most creatures are destined to die at a particular day, and a particular time, and nothing will ever change that. It's when we find those rare ones who don't have a particular day or time that we know we've found a gem."

"Like Sara."

"Like Sara. Like Amy. Like Bill. No day, no time, no warning."

"And Cla- Others."

The Doctor cocked her head. "And who?"

"Others." Tara turned away. The chaos in the Tardis had stopped and it was quiet again. "I've never seen her so angry."

"She is angry, yes, but she's hurting, scared, lost, her heart is breaking. Humans are used to emotions – well, lots of creatures are, not just humans – but it doesn't mean they can handle them. She took all those feelings out on you because you are safe."

"Safe?" Tara turned back to The Doctor.

"You're her friend. She felt safe showing this to you. She probably hasn't shown it to anyone before today."

"I hate leaving her like this."

"Then we won't."

"We promised Graham, Ryan and Yasmin we'd be back shortly."

"Are you or are you not capable of manipulating time and space?"

Tara smiled. "You don't mind?"

"Helping you and your only other friend in the universe make amends? No. I absolutely do not mind. And neither would my last two incarnations."

Tara turned around, nodding. "They really did get to liking her."

"I'm sure I will too. Now, let's clear out this smoke and give Sara some space for a few days. We'll try again."

"She smashed the transmitter. I can't see her unless she comes here."

"I know. A few days gives me time to make a new one. Maybe a lovely broach this time." The Doctor headed up to the mezzanine, toward one of the side doors. "Or a tiara."

"A tiara?"

"Too much?" She stopped to smile at Tara.

"Yes."

"I could make a ring."

"A necklace. She always loved that necklace he, you, gave her."

The Doctor smiled. "A necklace it is, then. Come join me?"

Tara shook her head. "I need some time..."

"Okay. When you're feeling better then."

Tara nodded before disappearing.

The Doctor sighed, telling herself, "If I'd known this would make me a mum..." She turned into the side hall, smiling.

#

The Doctor crested the hill of the hay field and stopped. Below her was the end of Sara's farm. She sat on a bench made of a split log sitting on two large split logs. The tree the bench had come from was next to it, the top smooth from use. She watched Sara for a few moments, considering how best to start this conversation.

Sara tossed a handful of cracked corn on the ground, watching the crows peck at it. Some had perched on the bench next to her, eating corn from her hand when she offered it to them. At her feet, the Collie lay watching the birds. It had taken a while to make him understand crows were not to be chased, especially here at the end of her property where she'd created a sanctuary for them.

The Doctor strolled down the hill, stopping at the end of the bench. Sara glanced up but said nothing. The Doctor slowly sat down on the opposite end, watching the crows.

"They're quite happy here. They like you," The Doctor told her.

Sara said nothing.

"Can you understand them-"

"Leave," Sara hissed.

The crows grew still, all eyes turning toward The Doctor. Another human, another creature, might think nothing of this, but The Doctor knew better. These crows were friends with Sara, not her, and she might have been there to broker the friendship, but that was when she had another face. They saw a stranger now, and she was on a very thin line of being a safe stranger, or an enemy.

"Please, let's talk," The Doctor said.

"I don't want to talk to the likes of you."

"The likes of me can't be responsible for things I cannot control."

Sara sighed. She put her face in her hands for a moment, then pushed her hands up and through her hair, pinning it away from her face. The crows were slowly moving in on The Doctor now.

"Am I an enemy?" The Doctor asked Sara.

"What?" Sara finally looked at her.

"I asked, am I an enemy?"

"No. Just an ass."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Perhaps, but I'm not an enemy?"

"No."

"They don't know that." The Doctor subtly motioned at the crows around them.

Sara looked at them, noticing their focus and the hive movement toward The Doctor.

"Leave her be," Sara told them. "She made me angry, but no harm."

Most of the crows looked at Sara, cawing. With a tired sigh, she smiled.

"I know the feeling isn't that, but I'm angry. She made me very angry. Her and Tara."

More cawing.

"No. She's The Doctor. She just changed faces," Sara told them.

They continued cawing.

"Ah," The Doctor told the crows, "I see the confusion. My kind doesn't die. We regenerate into a new body. This is the new me. It can be quite mind boggling at first. Perhaps your ancestors spoke of it?"

The crows cawed some more, but relaxed. Sara returned to feeding them from the bucket at her feet.

"They have certainly taken a liking to you," The Doctor told her.

Sara nodded.

"It's strange being a woman. I've never been one before."

Sara looked at her. "What's strange about it? I thought your species didn't have male and female."

"We don't. I mean, not like humans, but obviously we can change gender." She motioned to herself to emphasize.

"Obviously. Why are you here? You never come without wanting something." Sara looked away, adding angrily, "Which is infuriating, actually."

The Doctor stared at her until she looked back up.

"You've never told me that before."

"I've never been this angry at you before."

"Or Tara?"

Sara stared for several minutes. She slowly looked away. "She warned me. She told me it was going to happen. But she didn't tell me what I really needed to know."

"What was that?"

"It would take him three days to die, and he would be in so much pain that he wouldn't even know who I was when he passed away. I lost him twice. When the accident happened, and at the end. I think I'd have rather he died from being shot by a Dalek."

"Shot by a Dalek?"

"She said if he went adventuring with you, he'd be killed by a Dalek on the same day, same time. I didn't know that the car accident wasn't that day and time. Three days later would be. I could have been with him three more days."

"Oh. I see. Would he have enjoyed adventuring?"

"Yes. After he saw the Tardis and met Tara, he always asked me what adventuring with you was like. I didn't know, of course, since I don't, but I told him what I'd heard from you and the others, the companions you call them."

The Doctor thought for a moment. "That could be changed."

Sara looked up at her. "What?"

"I have a time machine, don't I? He could die adventuring. But understand, Sara, he'll die no matter what. I cannot save him. No one can save him."

Sara started to cry. She dropped her face into her hands and began to sob. The Doctor moved next to her and put her arm around her, holding her close. For several hours they sat while Sara cried.

Slowly sitting up, Sara dried her eyes. The crows had moved close to her, trying to comfort her as best they knew how. She petted several of them. Noticing she was now petting the crows, the Collie pushed ahead of the crows and demanded attention. She petted him for a while, watching him watch her.

"So?" The Doctor asked.

She shook her head. "No. I can't live through losing him a third time. I feel like my heart would shatter if I did that. I would die too."

"Then we have progress!"

Sara looked at her. "What?"

She smiled at Sara, laying a hand on her shoulder. "You don't want to die. And you're out of the house with your friends." She motioned at the crows and dog. "And me, of course. That's progress for a mending heart."

Sara smiled a little, looking away to the ground.

"And what of Tara?" the Doctor asked.

"She tried to tell me. I wouldn't let her."

"She said that. I hate to place blame right now, but it sounds more like you _chose_ not to know."

Sara sighed. "I'm not ready to talk about it yet. I can't... I can't face her right now."

"That's fair." The Doctor dug into her coat pocket and held out her hand.

Sara looked down at the locket on a gold link chain. It was a little bigger than the last one.

"A transmitter?"

"Yes, but I made some changes." The Doctor opened it. Inside was an aged picture of the Tardis on the left and an aged picture of Tara on the right. The Doctor pointed to the Tardis. "If you press this, it calls Tara. When you press it, she'll know if it's urgent or just a friendly call – that's important since we never know where our adventures will find us when you call. I'd like not to get stranded while being shot at." Sara laughed a little at the joke. "When she's here, it still reaches two kilometers. But if you press on Tara, for four hours you can reach as far as ten kilometers before it powers down to recharge. It takes a day to recharge, use it sparingly." The Doctor picked up Sara's hand and placed the locket it in it, then curled Sara's fingers around the locket. "Tara doesn't have but two friends, Sara. You and me. I know you're hurting, I know Jason's death has torn you asunder, but remember your friend feels the pain too. She would do anything to be here for you."

Sara nodded.

"That's a girl. We're going to go now. Have some rescuing and adventures to get to. When you're ready to talk to Tara, call her. We'll be here as quick as can be."

Sara nodded again.

The Doctor stood up and then hugged Sara, surprising her. Sara stared wide-eyed at her when she stood up.

"I'm a hugger now."

"It would appear."

The Doctor flashed a smile and walked away.

 **To Be Continued...**


End file.
